


Sharp Blood of Angels

by jongkey_krisho



Series: The Heavens Have Fallen, Hell Has Risen [1]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Angels, Blood, Demons, EVERYONE GETS A HAPPY ENDING OK NO ONE DIES, Ghosts?, M/M, Other Fantasy Creatures, Smut, Vampires, Violence, Will add tags as I go, Wolves, other cameos - Freeform, save my precious child baek, sorry i read a fanfic and everyone got murdered i legit cried, they are the main characters - Freeform, will baek get his ice cream tho
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-15
Updated: 2019-02-24
Packaged: 2019-05-23 20:59:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 56,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14941296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jongkey_krisho/pseuds/jongkey_krisho
Summary: They just wanted food from the store.It was all they were asking. It was all they planned for.Not for violence. Not for blood. Not for staring. Not for imprinting. Not to be found irresistible. Certainly not to lose their ice cream.But most importantly of all...Not for their reality to change at all.





	1. Love? More Like Fainting at First Sight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fanfic is also crossposted at Asian Fanfics with the username jongkey_krisho so no plagiarizing is happening, don't worry. Also crossposted at wattpad with the username jongkey_krisho (yeahhhh if I can't use dots I use an underscore so yeah pretty much). Just use which website you're more comfortable with.

He really tried. He did. But it was almost impossible for anyone to resist Baekhyun’s nagging.

 

“Please, hyung, just this once! Please, you know I don’t like to go out alone in the dark!”

 

It was past 11 pm, and Baekhyun suddenly thought that it was the perfect time to eat ice cream as they were chilling in their couch having a movie marathon. Of course, sadly, Junmyeon finished all the ice cream yesterday after dinner and forgot to tell Baekhyun. There were no other snacks to eat as well, considering that it was all they have been munching on for the past two hours.

 

Junmyeon sighed. Baekhyun, supposedly, rarely made any requests. Why he was desperate for ice cream, he didn’t know.

 

He reached over and grabbed the remote to pause the movie. “I’ll go, but you’re paying.”

 

Baekhyun smiled. “Yeah! I’m in the mood for cookie dough, you?”

 

“Cookies n’ cream.”

 

“Pfft. That’s practically the same thing.” Baekhyun jumped off the couch and ran to the foyer where his shoes were. “Come on, I think the store closes at midnight.”

 

“The store is open 24/7 I think,” Junmyeon said. He looked around the couch looking for his socks, which came off when he was still wrapped with the blanket. “Dang it, I can’t find my socks.”

 

Baekhyun threw him some flip flops. “Here, wear this.”

 

“I can’t go out with sweatpants and flip flops, Baek!” Junmyeon got off the sofa and went to their room upstairs. “I’m going to change real quick!” he shouted to Baekhyun, who was still in the foyer.

 

“We’re going to be back, idiot!” Baekhyun opened the closet where their jackets were, rummaging around for his wallet. Damn. He really was unorganized.

 

“Too bad Xiumin couldn’t come,” Junmyeon shouted back. “He said he wanted to make macarons again.”

 

The three of them usually hanged out together, although Baekhyun and Junmyeon were closer since they’ve known each other since middle school. Flash forward to them being 20, both taking college classes online and now living alone in Baekhyun’s house. (That rich fucker – his parents and grandparents were really wealthy and all that shit, but of course Baekhyun didn’t care about all that. All that meant was they could have their own place and not work and concentrate on their studies. Of course, Junmyeon always felt uneasy, but Baekhyun always waved him off, saying they could get jobs when they got their degrees.)

 

They’ve known Xiumin for about two years, but the way they met was pure accident.  2 months after they moved, they were just riding their bikes in the forest, as usual, but of course, Junmyeon was clumsy and ran into a tree and was knocked unconscious. Baekhyun kept screaming for help, cradling his friend in his arms, when Xiumin came over. Later on, they found out the Xiumin also lived in the forest in a small cabin and was just going for his usual walk when he heard the chaotic screams. Luckily, Junmyeon recovered, but he didn’t just get his health back; they also made a friend.

 

Xiumin was really reserved, but it was probably due to his innocent and naïve nature. He was really fond of the baozis that Baekhyun made sometimes, and they always hanged out in their free time. However, Xiumin often went away, claiming he had matters to attend to or something. What he was doing, they didn’t know. Just like today. Xiumin promised to sleep over, but he got “held up” into something last minute and couldn’t make it. So now Junmyeon and Baekhyun had to go out alone to get ice cream in the dark. Alone.

 

Junmyeon shook his head. Xiumin didn’t come! He would have made macarons and they wouldn’t have the need to go to the store. Or they would have finished the food faster and thus gone out earlier while there was still light. Oh well. It was nothing they could do now.

 

He finished putting on his jeans and sneakers and grabbed his wallet as well, only joking when he said Baekhyun had to pay, even though he knew damn well Baekhyun ate almost everything. He also grabbed his black backpack so that they didn’t have to carry stuff on the way back.

 

He rush down the stairs and was greeted with Baekhyun, who was busy on his phone. “Come on, let’s go.”

 

Baekhyun looked up and stashed his phone away. “I thought you were dead. It took you ages to come downstairs.”

 

“Baekhyun, I timed myself. It took 2 minutes, so don’t you start with me.”

 

“I didn’t do anything!” Baekhyun grabbed the house keys off the hook while Junmyeon turned off the light switch. “I want iceeeee creammmmm yesss.”

 

After locking the door of the house, the two went on the walk out of the forest to go to the gas station, which was a thirty-minute walk from their place. Baekhyun had a car, but since they lived in the forest, not next to it, there was no driveway or entrance to go to their place, so Baekhyun had to keep it parked in the gas station. The owner didn’t mind, considering their living locations, so it was normal for them to go on walks like this.

That didn’t mean that Baekhyun never had his pocket knife with him though.

 

Since it was dark, Junmyeon had the flashlight from his phone on, thankful that it had 82% battery and wasn’t going to die out at one point. Plus, he also carried a hand-held flashlight as well as extra batteries, never knowing how his luck will play out.

 

Halfway towards their journey, Baekhyun started complaining how they should have brought their bikes with them.

 

“Baekhyun, you know we can’t ride bicycles in the dark since your light broke.”

“Yeah, but,” Baekhyun whined, not wanting to hear Junmyeon’s logic. “It’s going to take forever to get our ice cream, and I just realized that it’s going to melt on the way back!”

 

Junmyeon stopped on his tracks, realizing how true Baekhyun’s words were. “Shit, you’re right. Well, let’s go home.” He turned around and headed back towards home.

 

“Wait, wait, I still want ice cream!” Baekhyun complained, pulling Junmyeon back. “Don’t worry, we can always freeze it again! Come on, Junmyeon, pleaseeee?”

 

Junmyeon turned around again and rolled his eyes. “Why are you complaining about one thing if you are still going to do it or want it?”

 

“Well, um, maybe I’m going through mood swings, you never know. I could be pregnant!” Baekhyun shouted back.

 

“Baek, you’re a cisgender male, how the hell is that going to happen,” Junmyeon retorted. “To even _be_ pregnant, you need a partner, and you just stay shut in the house all day.”

 

“Okay, well, what if someone has been living in our house in secret, you never know. Plus, I can get a boyfriend! Ummmm… Xiumin could be my boyfriend! And we could live in a mpreg universe, you don’t know that!”

 

“Excuse me, what?” Junmyeon asked. “What the heck is _that?_ Baekhyun, what have you been reading these days? And I’m pretty damn sure you’re not dating Xiu.”

 

“Why not? You think I can’t date him?”

 

“Well, one, you would have told me you liked him. Two, you both would have told me if you were dating. And three, if you _could_ get pregnant, and you did, you would have told me. Plus, we’re always together when we hang out, so you couldn’t ha-“

 

“Okay, okay, I was just _playing._ I like tall dudes who are dorky and can carry me with ease. Xiumin would marry a steam bun if he could.”

 

“Maybe he is married to one and that’s why he’s been ditching us lately.” Junmyeon let out a yelp when he realized he hit a rock with his foot. “Ouch!!”

 

Baekhyun laughed in response, earning a hit from Junmyeon.

 

The gas station came in view quickly after that, and the two of them sighed in relief as they raced inside the store to grab all the food they desired. The only person who was there (a bored, middle-aged man who was practically dozing off) ranged their stuff slowly as the two chattered about what they were going to do after going home.

 

“We should watch a horror movie,” Baekhyun suggested, “And wrap ourselves like sushi with blankets during the scary parts.”

 

“I think we should put something random while eating so that we could fall asleep. It’s already past midnight,” Junmyeon said, showing Baekhyun the screen of his phone.

 

“Well, you’re no fun,” Baekhyun complained. “You’re just scared.”

 

“You literally just said that we are going to wrap ourselves in blankets,” Junmyeon responded. “Who’s the scared one, now?”

 

“You just have to rub that into my face,” Baekhyun muttered. “Let’s just watch music videos, then.”

 

The cashier finally told them the price (Baekhyun wanted to pay but Junmyeon handed a twenty quickly before Baekhyun could protest), and when they were handed the receipt and bags, the two went out the store to go back home.

 

Baekhyun helped stuff everything into Junmyeon’s bag. “Good thing you brought this, or if not, my arms would have fallen off.”

 

“Yeah, it would be harder to eat ice cream without arms,” Junmyeon added.

 

About 5 minutes have passed when they went deep into the forest again when Baekhyun complained about something.

 

“Hey, Junmyeon, do you hear that,” he asked.

 

Junmyeon stopped walking, putting his hands around his ears to try to hear what Baekhyun was saying. “I don’t hear any-“

 

He stopped when he _did_ hear it. It appeared to be someone runni-

 

No. That was too little. It sounded more like _three._

 

“Shit, shit SHIT Baekhyun, RUN!!” Junmyeon shouted, pulling his friend’s arm with him as they started running, shoving his phone into his back pocket so that the strangers couldn’t see the light. Baekhyun took out his knife with his free hand in case they had to use it.

 

It wasn’t enough, though. Pretty soon, the strangers heard them and started chasing them. Pretty soon, they caught up with.

 

One man took of hold of Baekhyun’s arm and threw him back, causing Baekhyun to fall back and drop his knife. Junmyeon tried to reach out but another man grabbed a hold of his waist and threw him onto his back.

 

“Come on, let’s take them!” Man 1 shouted, carrying struggling Baekhyun in the same way Man 2 was carrying Junmyeon.

 

“Yeah, but quick before the other shitheads catch up to us,” Man 3 said. The men started running in a different direction and had a firm grip, making escape seem impossible.

 

“Junmyeon, what are we going to do?!” Baekhyun shouted, voice quivering as he quickly broke down into sobs.

 

Junmyeon didn’t respond, tears also falling down his face. How the hell did they find themselves into this situation? They just wanted ice cream, god dammit!

 

The men had been running for about a minute when the one carrying Baekhyun was quickly thrown against the tree; by what, Junmyeon didn’t know due to the darkness.

 

Both the man and Baekhyun let out screams of pain when Junmyeon saw someone in front of him, lifting him off and throwing him to the ground.

 

He fell to the ground, hands reaching out to cover his head as he groaned in pain. He fell on some branches, so he could already feel some scratches and scabs coverings his arms. There were going to be bruises later, he was sure.

 

He stayed on the ground with his eyes shut, trying not to respond to the screams, bones breaking or-

 

Wait, was that _wolves howling_?!

 

Shit, there were wolves in this forest and Junmyeon hasn’t known for two years. Damn, he really was an idiot.

 

After more screams and some weird slurping sound, Junmyeon heard the sounds of bodies dropping onto the ground and some whispering. Curious, he lifted his hands off his face and saw three men.

 

They weren’t the same ones as before, though. No, these three men looked much younger and more handsome (although it was dark so Junmyeon couldn’t tell if it was a trick or not.)

 

He heard more whispering and footsteps coming closer to him. He soon enough felt someone’s forehead touch his.

 

He open his eyes slowly, seeing one of the guy’s face right in front of him. His eyes were dark, and Junmyeon was pretty sure there was a circle of red.

 

And his teeth.... were those... were those....

 

He let out a whisper. “Who… who are.. you guys…”

 

The man in front of him smiled. “That’s what I should be asking you.”


	2. Umm...

Junmyeon screamed as he shot out of bed, hand clutching his chest as he gasp for breaths.

Shit, that nightmare… it felt too real. Junmyeon hasn’t had nightmares in a long time. Why now?

He shook his head. This was his punishment for agreeing to watch a scary movie with Baekhyun. Junmyeon never knew how to say no, especially to his friend.

Damn that puppy face of Baekhyun.

Junmyeon took long, deep breaths to calm himself down. It was just a nightmare, no need to fret over anything.

His breaths slowly became more even when he suddenly noticed the room he was in – it wasn’t his.

Huh. That’s weird. Did he sleep in Baekhyun’s room? No, he literally goes in their everyday, whether it is to tell Baekhyun something or bring him lunch or something. If Baekhyun gave his room a makeover, he would have known. Plus, this room seemed much smaller.

He sighed. He must have thrown up on his bed or something and had to sleep in the guest room. He had a lot of stuff to do today.

He got of his bed, taking note of the long markings covering his arms and legs. Now he had to take care of that, too.

He had different clothes then he was wearing yesterday, but he didn’t seem to recognize it. A ginormous, white t-shirt that was falling of his shoulders, and a big pair of black sweatpants that were dangerously falling off his hips. These were definitely not Baekhyun’s clothes. Or his.

Okay, he’ll admit it. They’re short. Junmyeon and Baekhyun are short. Oh well.

Looking around the room, he noticed the backpack and his change of clothes yesterday perched on top of a chair, looking freshly laundered and folded neatly. Huh. That’s also strange.

It’s a good thing, though. That means they weren’t kidnap like in his nightmare because they wouldn’t obviously treat him like this, right? Or maybe it was a trap for trust…

Junmyeon’s logic wouldn’t help him now.

He grabbed his backpack off the chair, noting that the inside was empty and also seemed to be laundered. What the hell? Did Baekhyun eat all the food yesterday by himself? But why would he clean the bag?

It was too tiring to do all this guessing. He stuffed the folded clothes into the bag and opened the single door in the room.

Yeah, he definitely was not in their house. The walls appeared to be concrete (was he underground?!) and he didn’t recognize the doors at all. The room he was in was at a dead end to the left, so Junmyeon had no choice but to go right.

He walked slowly as to not draw any attention to himself in case there were people there. He couldn’t walk so fast, either, since there was a throbbing pain in his head. Was he drugged? Did they do stuff to him while he was asl-

No. According to Baekhyun’s research (from those stupid books he reads), his ass would have hurt, and Junmyeon felt perfectly fine down there.

Why the hell does his head hurt then?! Junmyeon wanted answers, god dammmit!

Besides, even if he did get hurt, he would have recovered by now. Junmyeon’s injuries always seemed to go away very fast. Why, he didn’t know, it just happened. His arms would be clear by three days now, tops.

He kept walking until the hallway ended at an enormous living room of some sorts. It looked pretty normal, even if it was underground, but there were two things that were creeping him out.

One, there was a small table by the corner. This was okay, tables are normal, right? Not if they have a mass amount of weapons all over it.

Two, he recognized that two guys that were sitting, hell, one of them got a little too close to his face yesterday.

Shit.

As soon as his brain processed what was going on (or what he could – he still had no idea what the fuck was going on), he turned around to run back to his room, but it was no use.

“Hey, where are you going?” One of them said.

Junmyeon turned back slowly, not wanting to meet their gaze. Damn, he forgot that there was a dead end. Shit. Should he answer?

Before he could decide, the taller one (oh my god, not him) made hand motions saying to come forward. Not knowing if it was a bad idea or not, Junmyeon took three steps forward.

The tall dude sighed, so he and the other man next to him both got up from where they were sitting.

“I’m going to repeat my question from yesterday,” the tall man said. “Who. Are. You.”

“I’m…I’m Junmyeon.”

“Shit,Yifan, I don’t think he knows,” the shorter male said. “I don’t think he knows about anything.”

“He has to know, Luhan! Else, why would he be living in the forest alone with his friend! Plus, you know his smell isn’t normal for a human! We, of all people, should know!”

What. The. Fu-

“Do you really not know who you are?” This… Yifan person asked him, now having an apologetic face.

“I… I don’t understand you mean by humans… like, aren’t you guys humans?” Junmyeon asked, he voice cracking.

“Well, guess we have to explain ourselves now.” Luhan (?) said. “Plus, he saw us kill those men last night, so-“

I repeat myself. What. Th-

“Okay, um, I guess we should introduce ourselves. I’m Luhan,” the shorter dude said, pointing to himself, “And this grumpy person right here is Yifan. Or Kris. Dang, that’s confusing.”

“Don’t tell him I’m grumpy!” Yifan (Kris? What?) interrupted. “Don’t listen to Luhan, he likes to lie all the time.”

“You always have a resting bitch face, Kris, he was bound to notice sooner or later. You don’t exactly hide your displease for people.”

They stopped their bickering when they noticed Junmyeon just staring at them with wide eyes.

“Um, as we were saying-“

They were interrupted when they heard some doors opening and someone screaming. “WHERE THE FUCK ARE THEY?!”

Wait. That voice sounded familiar-

Xiumin (Xiumin?!?! How did he find this place?!) came to view and marched right in front of Luhan.

“Oh, hey, babe, where have you bee-“

“Don’t babe me.” (Babe?) He turned to look at Junmyeon and sighed in relief. “Okay, you’re not hurt, but where’s Baekhyun?”

“Oh, he’s with Chanyeol,” Kris said. “He sustained worse injuries than Junmyeon here, so he’s having bed rest. I don’t know if he’s woken up yet.” He paused. “Wait, how do you know the other dude’s name? We don’t even know it.”

“Wait, Baekhyun?!” Junmyeon shouted. “What’s wrong with him, where is he?!”

Xiumin sighed, rubbing his forehead in circles with both of his hands. “Shit, this is all my fault.” He looked at Junmyeon. “I guess I owe an explanation then.”

“I have no idea what’s going on, Xiumin.”

“Xiumin, who the hell is Xiumin?” Luhan asked. “Minseok, who-“

“Well, thanks for ruining my cover, babe!” Xiumin (wait – Minseok?) shouted. “Xiumin is my alias,” he explained to Junmyeon. “My real name is Minseok.”

“Wait, you’re real name…” Junmyeon trailed off. “Why do you need an alias..”

Xiumin (he wasn’t going to call him Minseok just yet) crossed his arms. “Okay. Let’s start with the basics. Luhan here,” he pointed to Luhan, “is a wolf and…. My mate, I guess you could say. Chanyeol is also a wolf. He’s the one attending Baekhyun, as far as I know.”

He took Junmyeon’s stare as a sign to continue.

“Kris, hear,” he pointed to Kris. “Is a vampire. No, he won’t suck your blood, don’t sweat it, he only drinks blood of people that he kills-“

“MINSEOK-“

“But he’s also a noble or some shit but he’s way richer than Baekhyun, and he’s really old.”

“Well, Minseok here is-“

“Don’t tell him, Kris, you know my situation is different!” Xiumin shouted.

Wait, what? “Situation? What situation?” Junmyeon asked.

Xiumin glared at Kris who showed no sign of remorse. “Well, um, you see… how do I explain this….I’m a wolf but no quite-“

Xiumin paused. “I have some…. Demon blood in me? I don’t know exactly how that works-“

“He’s part demon, part werewolf,” Kris explained. “Usually there are humans who have demon blood, but the fact that he’s a werewolf makes it more confusing.”

“But Minseokie is so cute, how can he be part demon?” Luhan said. “Besides, haven’t you been looking for a cure?”

Xiumin rolled his eyes. “Only an angel can cure me, Luhan. Angels don’t come down here anymore, and if we do find one, which is really slim, what are the chances that he’ll help me? It’s no use.”

“A.. Angels exist too?” Junmyeon asked.

“Angels, demons, wolves, vampires, I think some ghosts but I’m not sure since I’ve never seen them-“

“Ghos-ghosts?”

“Minseok, stop it, you’re scaring the kid.” Kris said.

“Uh, excuse me, can I talk to Xiumin real quick,” Junmyeon said, dragging Xiumin’s arm away from the other too. “Xiu, what the hell is going on?”

“Okay, so fantasy creatures exist and all that shit,” Xiumin explained. “You were never supposed to know. I had to protect you, yes, but you were never supposed to know. Especially not Baekhyun, he’s only in this mess because he was with you.”

“Wait.” Baekhyun’s injuries were all his fault?

Xiumin must have sensed the distress on Junmyeon’s face because he quickly took back what he said. “No, I’m not saying that he got injured because of you, no. You see… you’re mother knew.”

“My… my mother?” Junmyeon asked. “What do you mean, she knew?”

“Well… she was involved in this fantasy world, whatever humans call it. And like you know, she’s dead, but…. Not really. Like she’s gone, but not dead. It’s hard to explain.”

“I want to hear it,” Junmyeon said.

Junmyeon never knew his parents. He lived with his paternal grandparents his entire life. They didn’t even know who his mother was, just that his dad came to them with an infant in his arms before dying in the emergency room three hours later. They didn’t even know if that was his actual biological dad, but they took care of him since “it was the last thing their son gave to them.”

“Did….. did you know my mother,” Junmyeon timidly ask.

Xiumin glared at him before responding. “Yeah, I did. Look, I’m sorry, what happened to your mother wasn’t her fault or yours but-“

“What happened to her?” Junmyeon questioned him.

“Junmyeon, it’s really complicated to explain everything-“

“I’ve gone more twenty years knowing nothing about her, I want to know something now.”

“Shit, I just gave you a shit ton of information right now for you to process and you still want to know more?” Xiumin asked. “Aren’t you going to ask about any of that?”

“Well, I still think I’m dreaming, to be honest-“

“Ok, look,” Xiumin stopped him. “I’ve got a photo of her back at my house. I’ll give it to you if you want.”

A photo…

“I can’t explain any more to you today since it’ll be too much. Plus, Baekhyun is still unconscious and we have to tell him everything, too. Although why Chanyeol won’t leave Baekhyun’s side, I don’t know, he’s just a weirdo.”

“I don’t think I’ve met this Chanyeol, so- wait, I have a question. How did you find me and Baekhyun?”

“I went to your house and you guys weren’t there,” Xiumin explained. “So I tracked your phone down-“

“You can track my phone?!” Junmyeon screamed.

“Yes, for emergencies, anyways, so I noticed you guys were here, and I knew something was wrong.”  
Xiumin shrugged. “The others knew that you guys lived in the forest, but they didn’t know that I was supposed to protect you, only that we were friends.”

“Why do you keep saying protect me? What does that mean?”

“I promised your mom that I would keep a close eye on you. She didn’t want you to run into any trouble.”

“Is it because… because…”

“Because of what?”

“Well,” Junmyeon started. “The others said I had a weird smell? Even though I’m human? I don’t get that.”

“Shit, they had to open their stupid mouths,” Xiumin muttered. “Let’s just say you’re special.”

“Um… okay…”

Suddenly, they were interrupted by some screaming. And it sounded familiar.

“Shit, is that Baekhyun?!”


	3. Like a Printer?

He really regretted it now. He regretted everything. Why didn’t he write his will as soon as possible?

It really was a stupid idea to go to the store at the middle of the night. Hell, it was stupid to live in the middle of nowhere in the first place. However, Baekhyun didn’t like to be with people that much, Junmyeon neither, so that’s why they tend to stay in their house all day. Xiumin being their friend was pure accident though.

 

He suddenly heard voices.

 

“…so then Luhan jumped out of the motorcycle and Minseok and Kris were staring at him like he lost his fucking mind and it honestly made my day.”

 

_Who the hell was that?_

Even though it felt like someone banged a hammer on his head, Baekhyun , somehow, managed to open his eyes, taking his time.

 

He couldn’t tell who was in front of him; maybe he was in the ER or something. He was pretty sure he was going to die.

 

Yesterday still felt like a blur, though. He remembered being thrown onto someone’s back and him bawling his eyes out, not wanting to die. Then he remembered flying across the air. That was pretty much it.

 

His eyes were fully opened now, so he was able to focus on the person in front of him. What he saw took away his breath.

 

No, it wasn’t Junmyeon, but it wasn’t one of the guys who tried to kidnap them earlier. No, this person was _much_ better looking. Man, he was _gorgeous_. He couldn’t still be asleep either; Baekhyun hasn’t even seen someone like this in his dreams.

 

He appeared to be in his mid-twenties. He had a long face and silky, brown eyes with random sliver flecks in them. How it worked, Baekhyun didn’t know, only that it suited him. The man also had his brown hair standing up, pulled in random directions as if he hadn’t brushed it in days. Not that it mattered to Baekhyun.

 

His ears, though. They were so _big._ Baekhyun would have laughed if it didn’t feel like his throat was on fire.

 

The man stopped speaking when he noticed that Baekhyun was awake. Gosh, he looked so friendly and lovable, like he was expert on giving hugs-

 

Okay, maybe Baekhyun was drunk or something. He never had stupid, lovey-dovey thoughts like this. But yet it felt like the man’s presence was pulling him in or something. Besides, no one could deny that attractive face.

 

Speaking of the man, it looked like he was focusing on Baekhyun’s face. Baekhyun didn’t know why, except that maybe that he had bruises on hi-

 

Shit, what the hell happened yesterday? Was Baekhyun dead? _Was Baekhyun dead?!?_

 

He couldn’t help it. He let out a big scream.

 

He kept screaming as the man in front started shaking and throwing his arms everywhere. “OH NO PLEASE DON’T SCREAM I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING TO YOU AS WELL I JUST-“

 

“BAEKHYUN!” He heard someone scream his name and heard a door open. “BAEKHYUN ARE YOU ALRIGHT?”

Baekhyun calmed down when Xiumin went to his side- wait, XIUMIN?!? What the hell?!

 

Ok, at least he knows that he wasn’t dead. Xiumin wasn’t even with them that day, so Baekhyun must still be alive. He hoped.

 

Wait, what was Xiumin doing here, again?

 

“Hey, calm down, no you’re not dead,” Xiumin said. Xiumin then turned to look at the man who had been in Baekhyun’s room the entire time. “Chanyeol, what the hell did you do?”

 

“Nothing, I swear!” The man – Chanyeol – yelled, throwing his hands up in the air. “I cleaned all his wounds earlier and everything, so I was just sitting here telling him stories like that time Luhan-“

“Okay, okay, you’re Chanyeol, I shouldn’t have expected anything different.” Xiumin looked back to look at Baekhyun. “Ok, we have a lot to explain to but the most important is that you’re safe and you’ll recover-“

“Recover?! Recover from what?!” Baekhyun screamed. Was he injured? _Oh my god was he injured?!_

“Bruises, scratches, sprains, nothing major. Your worst injuries were a deep gash on you bac, your ankle and the concussion you got,” Chanyeol said. “It’s why you are covered in bandages and gauze.”

“Is Baekhyun in here?” someone screamed, which Baekhyun realized to be Junmyeon’s voice.

 

He sighed in relief. If Junmyeon was looking for him, that means he was safe, too. Maybe he was okay, after all. Although he doesn’t know if anything happened to Junmyeon.

 

His best friend walked into the room, wearing these outrageously big clothes that definitely did not belong to either of them. He could only see a bruise on Junmyeon’s collar bone and cheek, plus some scratches on his forehead, but other than that, he looked okay.

 

“Junmyeon!” Baekhyun screamed, reaching his arms out. Junmyeon ran to him and gave him a hug, both of them quickly sobbing afterwards.

 

“I- I thought that-that-that-I thought-“

 

“Me too, Baek, I-I-have so much questions like-like-I-“

 

When the two finally managed to pull away, both of their faces were red, warm, and wet from all the tears they were making.

 

“Jun, I thought-“

 

“Well, you’re not, Baek, so don’t worry,” Junmyeon reassured him. “Look, um, this isn’t going to be easy to tell you-“

 

“I lost a limb? I’m going to die? We’re being forced off for marriage and have to leave in two hours in some foreign country to eighty-year-old men?”

“What? No! Baekhyun, what have I told you about your reading choices?” Junmyeon said. “No, it’s something…. Not bad, but not believable…..”

 

“Do werewolves exist?” Baekhyun asked, eyes going wide at this possibility.

 

“Actually, yes,” Xiumin piped in. “And…. I am one…”

 

Baekhyun blinked. Wait, he was actually right?

 

Chanyeol quickly reached out to hold Baekhyun’s arms. “PLEASE DON’T FAINT PLEASE DON’T WE WON’T DO ANYTHING TO YOU YOU’RE TOO PRECIOUS FOR THAT-“

 

“Not just wolves, you idiot,” Xiumin said. He let out a sigh. “Baekhyun, there’s so much I have to tell you….”

 

\---

“So you’re saying there could be a ghost under my bed?” Baekhyun asked.

 

“Why am I not surprised,” Junmyeon said.

 

“Maybe, I don’t know for sure,” Minseok said. (His real name was Minseok! That was cool. Baekhyun always thought that it was cool to have two names.)

 

In over a course of one hour, Baekhyun had learned so much. All these fantasy creatures that lived right under their noses and they didn’t have a clue! This is was cool!

 

He also found out about the catastrophe that occurred yesterday. Those three men who tried to kidnap Baekhyun and Junmyeon were from a group of hunters that were trying to kill Luhan, Kris, and Chanyeol. However, when they realized that weren’t going to win, they saw two humans walking in the forest and decided to torture those two instead, hoping the smell of Baekhyun and Junmyeon’s blood would have attracted the other three to come and fall right into their trap.

 

Baekhyun still shuddered at the thought. Apparently, this wasn’t the first time that hunters and other creatures tried this.

 

Some stuff was still confusing, though – Minseok’s demon blood issue, something about Junmyeon’s mom (Baekhyun couldn’t bear seeing his friend hurt like that), and their whole aging issue.

 

The entire time of their conversation, though, Baekhyun couldn’t help but steal glances at Chanyeol. It also made him grin when he saw Chanyeol having the same issue as him.

 

Not to mention how Chanyeol’s grin looked like it could melt all the snow in the winter.

 

Baekhyun still had some questions, though. More specifically, about Minseok and Luhan. Minseok said they were mates or something? How did that work? Who even used the term anymore? “By the way, what’s with you and Luhan?” Baekhyun asked.

 

Minseok and Luhan exchanged glances. Minseok spoke up first. “We imprinted two years ago, which was when I first met him.”

 

“Really?” Baekhyun sat up straighter, pleasing him that his friend had someone meaningful to him. “How did you guys meet?”

Minseok rolled his eyes. “This bastard tried to kill me saying I went into his territory.”

Baekhyun’s face fell.

 

The story went like this – Minseok, being protector of Junmyeon and all that shit, followed them to live in the forest two years ago. The other three (Luhan, Chanyeol, and Kris) already lived there (underground though) and when they smelled another wolf in their territory, they got defensive.

 

Minseok wasn’t friends with them yet – it would be another week until Junmyeon ran into that god awful tree. Anyways, the oblivious two were going on one of their bike rides as usual when Minseok smelled other creatures nearby – one vampire (although he smelled to be a pure blood), and two werewolves. One wolf has distinct smell, though, one that Minseok couldn’t set his mind to.

 

Fast forward to someone throwing a rope over his neck and Minseok practically suffocating and Luhan pulling him in closer, Luhan so captivated in Minseok’s smell and eyes that he forgot he was killing him.

 

And that was that.

 

“Wait, so it was death at first sight? That’s so funny, oh my gosh,” Baekhyun said, already giggling. “Did you guys go out after that?”

 

“He didn’t accept until five months!” Luhan shouted. “He still hasn’t forgiven me!”

 

“You tried to kill me, idiot!” Minseok shouted. “It’s been only two years, I don’t forgive that easy!”

“But we haven’t even consummated yet-“

 

Junmyeon spit out the water that he was given.

 

Kris rolled his eyes. “This meeting to explain to them how the world works, not about your lack of sex life.”

 

“At least I have a chance of having a sex life!” Luhan shouted back. Minseok started getting pale and covered his face.

 

“I said I’m still not ready,” Minseok whispered, not heard by the others except Baekhyun.

 

Poor Minseok. Baekhyun knew that under all those layers, Minseok was just a little marshmallow. Wolf or not, he’s always looked scared about something, although Baekhyun now knows why.

 

He tried to change the topic. “How do you know if you imprint on someone? Is there, like, a printer or something that choses?” Baekhyun asked.

 

Luhan smiled. “Well, you think of him as really pretty and cute, and you start having these random thoughts about them, like how much you want to hug them and kiss, and how lovable they look and how you want to be closer to them. It’s hard to explain, but you understand it once you go through it.”

 

_Friendly. Looks like he could give nice hugs. Gorgeous, pretty, exquisite attractive face. Legit thought there was a magnet pulling the two of them-_

_Shit._

His eyes widen as realization sunk in, him jumping off the couch as he screamed.

 

“WAIT SO I ALREADY IMPRINTED?!”

 

“Woah, woah, no one’s saying you’ve imprinted,” Minseok said, trying to calm him down like earlier. “It only happens if one or both of them are wolves or part-wolf-“

 

“EXACTLY HE’S A WOLF OH MY OH MY GOSH-“ Baekhyun couldn’t stop shouting.

 

“Baekhyun, what’s going on?” Kris asked. “It feels a certain way, you don’t just-“

“SO YOU’RE SAYING,” Baekhyun continued, ignoring the rest of them and pointing to Chanyeol. “THAT I IMPRINTED ON THIS TALL, DORKY WOLF THAT I HAVEN’T EVEN KNOWN FOR AN HOUR?”

 

Chanyeol eyes widen at this statement. Dang, their eyes were going to hurt later. “WAIT THE FEELING IS MUTUAL?!” he shouted, also standing up.

 

“What feeling?!” Minseok said. “Wait, feelings of what? Baekhyun, what have you-“

 

“I COULDN’T STOP THINKING ABOUT HOW WONDERFULLY ATTRACTIVE THIS DUDE LOOKED LIKE AND I STARTED THINKING ABOUT HIS STUPID FRIENDLY FACE AND I MUCH I WANTED TO HUG HIM AND HOW HE WAS SO TALL I’M PRETTY SURE HE HAD A GRAVITATIONAL PULL AND IT WAS SUCKING ME IN-“

 

“HE JUST LOOKED SO PRECIOUS LYING THERE ON THE BED AND IT KEPT HURTING ME HOW MUCH PAIN HE SEEMED TO BE IN PAIN EVEN THOUGH I BARELY KNEW THE GUY AND I JUST FELT THE NEED TO PROTECT HIM AT ALL COST-“

 

“Chanyeol! What the hell, you too?” Kris tried to shout over them, but it was no use. Chanyeol and Baekhyun were having meltdowns.

 

“Okay, just because you think someone is good-looking doesn’t mean you imprinted,” Luhan tried to reason with them. “Like-“

 

“My best friend is really good-looking and I’ve never felt this way before! Besides, this Kris of yours kept staring at him!” Baekhyun shouted.

 

“What, no I haven’t!” Kris also got off of his seat.

 

“Yes you have! He so damn beautiful it would be wrong if you didn’t think he was good looking! Tell me Kris, do you think my friend is good-looking?!”

 

“That’s not the point here-“

 

“JUST ANSWER THE GODDAMN QUESTION-“

“OKAY, I’LL ADMIT IT, YOUR FRIEND IS SO DAMN BEAUTIFUL BUT THAT’S NOT THE ISSUE HERE-“

 

“SEE, MINSEOK! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?” Baekhyun fell on his knees, arms reaching up to his face as he started sobbing for the second time that day (third if you counted yesterday. “I CAN’T HAVE KIDS YET I’M NOT READY FOR SEX HELL I’VE NEVER EVEN KISSED A DUDE I JUST WANT MY ICE CREAM-“

 

“Baekhyun, I already said you can’t get pregnant, you can only adopt!” Junmyeon shouted back.

 

Minseok couldn’t handle it. He crumpled to the floor, head falling onto the cold concrete, not caring if he gets a bruise. He ignored his partner’s shout of concerns, among everything else.

 

If only he agreed to hang out with them yesterday, they wouldn’t be in this stupid mess. If only there were a printer that could make copies of him so wouldn’t have to deal with this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I just have so many ideas for this story I couldn't resist updating this. Oh, and some notes:
> 
> Luhan, Baekhyun, Suho and Kris have their hair from the History MVs (listen enjoy the mayo lol). Xiumin has it from the video where he says marshmellow all cute. Chanyeol has it from the video where he's reacting to Lay's MV. I think I described it okay. I can't describe eyes though. Sorry. 
> 
> (Sorry sorry sorry sorry nickel nickel nickel banjo...)


	4. My Head Hurts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still laughing at Baekhyun lol watch what he does.

“So, now your boyfriend is unconscious in your room, the two humans locked themselves in some other room, and Chanyeol went outside to scream,” Kris was telling Luhan. “What a lovely start.”

 

“Okay, none of this was my fault,” Luhan tried to persuade him. “Besides, you did say something about how Jun-“

 

“No I don’t want to hear your input,” Kris interrupted, already stomping away to his room. “Go check on Minseok or something, you have better things to do then to criticize me.”

 

Luhan rolled his eyes at Kris and his outburst. Well, more like everyone’s outburst earlier. He was still pretty confused, though, but not as much as the two humans, of course. Why did Minseok never tell him about this Junmyeon? Weren’t mates supposed to trust each other or something?

 

That’s probably why – Luhan got the feeling that Minseok didn’t trust him. It didn’t matter if they were imprinted or not. It took time for Minseok to open up to people, and even their relationship had been going a bit slow; like mentioned, Minseok took 5 MONTHS to accept Luhan. And Luhan was pretty sure it wasn’t about the almost-choking-to-death part.

 

Although, he had to admit, every time he saw Minseok, he would almost choke seeing that pretty male. His mate was a really amazing person.

 

Speaking of Minseok, anyways, he went to his room to see how he was doing and if he had woken up yet. Everyone stopped their screaming matches when they saw him faint and rushed over to his side to see what happened. Luhan pushed everyone away and carried Minseok to his room, laying him down on his bed when he noticed the ugly bruise that was about to form on his forehead.

 

It did scare him, though. Minseok had his moments when he looked like he was going to pass out, but it has never actually happened though.

 

To his dismay, Minseok  was still asleep, all wrapped up in Luhan’s white blanket looking cute. Luhan really did have a cute boyfriend.

 

He walked over to his desk and pulled out the chair, setting it right next to the bed so he could be near Minseok. He could have crawled onto the bed as well, but he didn’t want Minseok to freak out when he wakes up; Minseok just started getting comfortable with skin ship, and Luhan didn’t want to take advantage of that.

 

He fell asleep soon after that.

 

\----

 

‘’-and what if he doesn’t like a white theme, Junmyeon? I want to have a white bouquet, too, and a white veil. I don’t want to wear a suit; I want to wear a white sweater and white jeans. What if he doesn’t like it, Junmyeon?” Baekhyun grabbed Junmyeon’s shoulders. “WHAT IF HE DOESN’T LIKE-“

 

 “Baekhyun, why are you even worrying about a wedding, you’re acting like this Chanyeol proposed to-“

 

“Well, HE PRACTICALLY DID!” Baekhyun grabbed a pillow from the bed and placed it over his face, already letting out groans. He took it off. “They practically just said that I have to spend the rest of my life with him.”

 

“Actually, no one said that, they were just explaining how imprinting works, which was a question that you asked.”

 

“I know, but what if they can smell two imprinting males?” Baekhyun questioned his friend who definitely didn’t have the answers to all his questions. “Besides, that Chanyeol would have told them sooner or later, knowing my luck, and then they would have questioned me.”

 

“Maybe it wasn’t right for you to scream everything, though,” Junmyeon suggested. “I mean, have you even spoken to him alone?”

 

“N-no,” Baekhyun admitted.

 

“See, you guys basically admitted that you imprinted on each other, but yet you guys haven’t spoken to each other how your relationship is going to go or anything. He’s probably still pondering what the hell he’s going to do.”

 

“But Junmyeon,” Baekhyun whispered, pulling his friend’s shirt towards him as he looked at him dead in the eye. “ _What if he_ _wants to sleep with me straight away?”_

“He won’t do that, didn’t Minseok also said-“

 

“Yeah, well, that’s a different story, Minseok has an excuse,” Baekhyun interrupted. “But Chanyeol might be different. He’s taller and looks more muscular. Haven’t you seen his arms?”

 

“Why would I be staring at a stranger’s arm?” Junmyeon asked.

 

“Like you weren’t staring at that Kri-“

 

“Okay, that comment you made earlier was really unnecessary, Baek, plus you know I’m-“

 

“Junmyeon! We’ve had this conversation before, you’re not ugly!”

 

“Well, it’s my body, so I decided how attractive I look or not! I give myself a solid 3!”

 

“Yeah, on a scale of -1 to 1.”

 

“That makes no sense-“

 

“ANYWAYS-“

 

“Look, Baekhyun,” Junmyeon said, resting his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Don’t fret about it, okay? Do what you want and what your heart wants, no matter how cheesy it is. If he does something to you, tell me, okay? I’ll beat his ass as much as I can before he murders me. Which should be pretty quick, if I do admi-“

 

“You can’t die, Junmyeon! Who’s going to attend my wedding in the future?” Baekhyun pretended to cry. “My best man won’t be at my wedding! I’m so sadddd-“

 

“Baekhyun, you’re dramatic.”

 

“These injuries aren’t,” Baekhyun said, lifting up his shirt. “Look at all these bandages on me! And he said I have a sprain? Does that explain the weird brace thing on my ankle?” He lifted up his leg to show Junmyeon, which did indeed have a brace. “”Also, can you check my back? I want to know how big of a gash we are talking about-“

 

“Baek, I can’t take off any bandages, it might hurt you.” His stomach started rumbling. “I’m so hungry,” he whined.

 

“Me too, I never got my ice cream.” Baekhyun got off the bed, desperate to find food to feed himself. “Let’s go steal something to eat.”

 

“I think the ice cream melted when they carried us here,” Junmyeon replied. “My bag was all cleaned out, so it must have made a mess.”

 

“By the way, where are my clothes?” Baekhyun asked. “I mean, look at you, it looks like you stayed the night at your tall boyfriend’s house-“

 

“I don’t have a boyfriend.”

 

“-and you woke up and your clothes are dirty so he lend you some,” Baekhyun finished. “I mean, we were thrown off and into the air and probably landed on the mud or something, I don’t know.”

 

Junmyeon shook his head. He really did want to take a shower, his body all covered in sweat even though it was scraped clean of any blood. How he desperately wanted to go back to their place, spend an hour under the shower head and just crawl into his bed for the rest of eternity.

 

He got off the bed as well and followed his friend out of the room. Baekhyun seemed to be still be struggling in his walk, since he appeared to be limping and would wince constantly at the pain. He could only hope that his friend would recover quickly.

 

“Hey, Baekhyun. When do you think we can go back home?”

 

“I think they won’t let me leave until I can walk comfortably again. Besides, that Chanyeol migh-“

 

“You need to stop saying that Chanyeol. Just call him Chanyeol.”

 

“Until I have a proper conversation with him, I’m not referring him to anything else.” He crossed his arms; this was Junmyeon’s cue that Baekhyun was going to remain stubborn. “He’s my mate, so I get to call him whatever I want.”

 

“So, you admit that he’s your mate.”

 

“What? No! It’s just-“

 

“Didn’t you always complain about how hard it would be to find your soulmate,” Junmyeon added. “And now, look, he’s right in front of you and you won’t accept it.”

 

“That’s because it wasn’t romantic at all!” Baekhyun said. “I want to go on many dates, I want to have romantic walks and dinners and make-outs with him-“

“With Chanyeol?”

 

“No, stupid, my soulmate!” Baekhyun started increasing his pace, although it was hard with his injured foot.

 

“Chanyeol is your soulmate!” Junmyeon shouted. He suddenly came to a stop when Baekhyun in front of him stopped walking. That’s when he noticed the man in front of him.

 

The tall man with large ears, to be more specific.

 

“Um, hi!” Chanyeol shouted, lifting up his hand to wave to them. “I just came from outside, and I just, well, I just wanted to see how you were recovering-“

 

“I want a minimum of two dates a week and I want cupcakes on every special event,” Baekhyun interrupted him.

 

“Baekhyun!” Junmyeon shouted. Where the hell was his friend getting this type of attitude? Wasn’t he complaining about “this Chanyeol” a minute ago?

 

“I’m not done. Our wedding will be all white and I’m wearing whatever the hell I want. And I decide when we get to adopt and when I’ll lose my virginity. And don’t you dare bring dead animals in my room.”

 

“Okay!” Chanyeol started grinning, and as if it were contagious, Baekhyun did, too, but not as big as Chanyeol’s.

 

Junmyeon mentally slapped himself. Did imprinting make a person crazy or something?

 

“Actually, I wanted to ask if you want to eat with us? Well, me and Kris, since Luhan is still in his room with Minseok. He tend to get really protective like that.”

 

“Ummm.. will we be eating dead animals?” Junmyeon asked his future brother-in-law. (He considered Baekhyun as his brother, and he flat-out just said he’ll marry Chanyeol. A bit too quick in Junmyeon’s opinion.)

 

“What, no! I ordered take-out.” Chanyeol frowned. “I don’t eat dead animals in human form.”

 

“Well, I’m sorry, I still don’t know much about wolves.” Baekhyun admitted sarcastically. 

 

“It’s fine.” Chanyeol started smiling again and led the two to their dining room, either not noticing or not caring about Baekhyun's tone. “We have plenty of time.”

 

\----

 

Okay, Kris was going to admit it. Lunch was awkward.

 

The four of them were seated around a square table. Kris was seated between Chanyeol and Junmyeon, who were both next to Baekhyun. Luhan and Minseok were absent because of, well, Minseok’s injury.

 

Everyone ate in silence, with them all staring at their own bowls with serious looks except Chanyeol, who had his big stupid ass grin plastered on his face while he kept staring at Baekhyun. Something must have happened between those two, Kris was sure. He was going to pry it out of Chanyeol later.

 

“So, um,” Kris started, everyone shifting their attention towards him. “You two are free to come whenever you like, just know you’re always welcomed.”

 

“Wait, we aren’t stuck here?” Baekhyun shouted. “We can leave whenever we want?”

 

“Um, yeah, why wouldn’t you guys be able to leave?” They must have a weird mindset.

 

“Oh, I just thought we were prisoners,” he responded, already picking up more noodles to stuff into his face. How could he say that so chill?

 

“What, why would you be prisoners,” Chanyeol said. “Who in their right mind would think of having you captive?”

 

“Well, I’m not going to anger anyone who could snap my neck in seconds,” Baekhyun added, mouth still full with noodles. He swallowed before continuing. “I’m kind of glad that I was knocked out yesterday. I think normal people should have a low tolerance for violence in real life.”

 

That shot them right through their heart.

 

Kris pointed his chopsticks at Junmyeon. “Don’t tell me you had these same thoughts as your friend here.”

 

Junmyeon just fiddled with his fingers and stared at his own bowl, not bothering to make eye contact with Kris. “Ye-yeah.” He whispered.

 

Damn. Did those two think they were evil because they weren’t human? Or strangers?

 

It must have been the strangers option. They still acted friendly with Minseok, even after he said he was a wolf _and_ had demon blood.

 

Chanyeol was an idiot, so he didn’t blame them for that. What about him, though? Was it his resting bitch face? It must have been because of that, there was no other reason for it. Or maybe they thought vampires were extra evil. Damn, Kris was going to have to change those stereotypes.

 

But first, he wanted to change the fear that was shown on Junmyeon’s face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all the questions you guys have will be revealed later on, don't worry! You guys are all thinking about Junmyeon, lol. 
> 
> BAEKHYUN MY PRECIOUS CHILD lol he makes laugh, especially in real life.


	5. A Lovely Start

Baekhyun wanted to go home after lunch, not caring about the condition that his body was in. They changed out of the clothes that they were given and handed it back to their respective owners. Turned out it was Chanyeol and Kris who lent them the clothes – did they not see how short Baekhyun and Junmyeon? Honestly, Baekhyun thought that Chanyeol lacked common sense or something.

 

But not in a bad way, of cour-

 

No, no, think of it in a bad way. Come on, Baekhyun, don’t be as stupid as him!

 

Honestly, Baekhyun had no idea what happened ealier. One minute, his brain was filling up with all the doubts and drawbacks of being with this Chanyeol. Then it went all haywire when Chanyeol was actually standing _in front of him no less_ when Junmyeon screamed “Chanyeol is your soulmate!” _to top it off._

 

But he couldn’t resist that adorable grin that Chanyeol had on his face.

 

Was he really going to follow all of this? Baekhyun was a grown (short but grown) ass man who didn’t depend on others. Well, except Junmyeon. Because Baekhyun was scared of the dark. But that didn’t matter. Baekhyun didn’t follow anyone else’s rules if he didn’t feel like it.

 

When Baekhyun and Junmyeon finished the noodles that they were given (they skipped breakfast so of course they were going to eat everything) that’s when Baekhyun said they were leaving.

  
“Already?” Chanyeol piped up, the expression on his face showing that he clearly wanted to spend more time with Baekhyun. My, why was this wolf so _clingy?_

“Um, yeah, do you not see all the stuff that I now have to deal with,” Baekhyun replied, his tone coming off as harsh yet not caring. “I still need to shower, I want to catch up on school work, I want to sleep fore-“

 

“But you can do that here!” Chanyeol said. “I can let you stay in my room if you want-“

 

“Chanyeol, we said they could leave whenever they want,” Kris interrupted him, causing Chanyeol to frown. “Don’t push yourself.”

 

“But-“ Chanyeol started, already pouting. “Okay then. But promise you’ll be back!”

 

 _What about the dates that you promised_ Baekhyun thought, but not wanting to appear rude, he merely replied, “Well, you can walk me to my place if you want.”

 

Chanyeol’s smile made Baekhyun’s heart flutter a bit until he realized he just gave in to the guy’s whims _again._ Shit.

 

Baekhyun started wincing again, though, when he started climbing up the stairs that led them outside of the underground home. Chanyeol probably took note of this because next thing Baekhyun knew, he was being lifted by someone.

 

“What the fu-“ he started but his face was slammed into someone’s chest.

 

“I can carry you home, you know, because of your ankle.” Chanyeol had a tight grip on Baekhyun to let him go but not too tight to give him discomfort. “Junmyeon, can you show me the way?”

 

Junmyeon nodded and pushed the door that led them out of the compound, eyes squinting as some sunlight hit them in the eyes.

 

Too bad Baekhyun couldn’t see anything because he still had his face pressed again Chanyeol’s chest. He lifted it up a bit to see their surroundings.

 

Yep, they were still in the forest. And Baekhyun had no fucking clue to where they were.

 

Junmyeon appeared to have the same problem. “Uh….. I don’t know where-“

 

“You guys live in that direction,” Kris pointed somewhere towards the east. “It’s like a 10 minute walk from here.”

 

“Oh, okay!” With Baekhyun in his arms, Chanyeol started running towards the direction where Kris pointed at, Junmyeon running to catch up with Chanyeol’s impossible fast speed.

 

Baekhyun didn’t miss the look Kris gave to Junmyeon, though. Oh, boy, he was going to have so much fun teasing those two. See, just because Baekhyun was having a mid-life crisis (or end-of-life crisis – he was pretty sure was going to die soon) didn’t mean he was delirious; he knew what he was arguing about.

 

“Excuse me, Mr. Chanyeol, you’re leaving my friend behind.” Junmyeon was falling behind.

 

“Oh, I’m sorry Baekhyun! Here!” Chanyeol abruptly stopped, giving Junmyeon a chance to reach them. He eventually came to them, hands on his knees as he panted for breath.

 

And that was the end of it. Chanyeol, probably too afraid of letting Junmyeon behind again (and Baekhyun saying that if Chanyeol tripped and hurt Baekhyun’s other ankle, he was going to get it), walked slow the rest of the way, until the big, familiar house came into view, the sight of the clear windows and tended flowers near their porch bring ease to Baekhyun and Junmyeon.

 

Junmyeon had his keys out already as he pushed one into the front door’s lock, the silver key reflected the sunlight as he pushed the door open and pulled it out, stepping off to the side so that Chanyeol and his injured friend could pass in first, him tagging behind them as he rushed upstairs to get something.

 

“I’ll be back!” he shouted as he climbed up the stairs, leaving Chanyeol alone with Baekhyun.

 

The living room was just like how Baekhyun and Junmyeon left it – blankets and pillows everywhere, a few DVDs stacked up on the coffee table, empty bags of chips and pocky and pretzels scattered all over the floor and sofa. Out of the corner of his eye, Baekhyun spotted those damn pair of socks that Junmyeon was looking for before they went out.

 

Chanyeol, not knowing where to put Baekhyun, decided to settle him on the couch, scooting everything to the side to make space for him. He grabbed a few pillows as well to prop up Baekhyun’s injured ankle and threw one of the blankets over him so that Baekhyun wouldn’t complain.

 

“I hope I made you comfortable,” Chanyeol mentioned, his face not even resisting to put that damn smile of his, eyes glistening as he took in Baekhyun’s appearance.

 

Baekhyun didn’t have it in him to be rude. “Honestly thanks, you didn’t have to do that,” he replied, Chanyeol paying no attention to him as he wandered into the kitchen.

 

“You guys have a really nice place.” Chanyeol started opening the cabinets and cupboards. Baekhyun had no idea what he was looking for since he couldn’t see Chanyeol from his spot from his couch. He should have felt annoyed that a guy he just met was already searching his house like he owned the place, but Baekhyun didn’t feel like screaming at him.

 

Junmyeon came back again, the medical kit that he and Baekhyun kept stashed away in the bathroom cabinets. “I don’t know when we should change your bandages, so I just grabbed the kit for now.”

 

“Aww, Jun, you didn’t have to do that,” Baekhyun whined, throwing the blanket that was covering his body over his head as if to not make eye contact with his friend. “You keep forgetting I’m not crippled, I can walk just fine you know.”

 

Junmyeon pulled the blanket from Baekhyun’s face. “Just because you have a brace to help you walk doesn’t mean that it’s a good idea to do so,” he replied as Chanyeol came back from the kitchen, a glass of water in one hand and two white pills in the other.

 

“I noticed you limping and wincing earlier, so I tried to find some pain medication for you to take,” he answered. “I hope you don’t mind.”

 

“Oh.” So that’s what he was doing in the kitchen.

 

Chanyeol placed the pills and glass in Baekhyun’s hands before replying, “So I guess I should be leaving now-“

 

“Already? Isn’t it too soon?” Chanyeol just arrived to their house and he wanted to leave already? Why-

 

_Baekhyun stop having these thoughts!_

 

Chanyeol thought for a moment (oh if only Baekhyun knew what he was thinking) before replying “Can I pick you up tomorrow at 5?”

 

“For what?”

 

“For our date of course. You said two a week.”

 

“Oh. Well, sure I guess? I me-“

 

“Ok!” Chanyeol gave his trademark smile to Baekhyun, already heading out the door. “Make you dressed comfortably! You don’t have to bring anything!”

 

He was gone just like that.

 

“This is going way too fast for my liking.” Junmyeon sighed and flopped onto the couch, kit long forgotten on the messy coffee table. “How did he plan a date so fast? He didn’t even give you his phone number!”

 

“I don’t even know if he has a phone.” Baekhyun grabbed the blanket and covered his face again, feeling the soft cotton brush against his (probably red) cheeks. “I’m dead, Junmyeon, I’m so dead.”

 

“Baek-“

 

“What’s the term for two people who imprinted? Are we even dating? Do I say he’s my boyfriend or mate or imprinted individual? Yeah, maybe I’ll call him double I, that suits him.”

 

“All I know is that you complain about him but yet as soon as he’s present, you give in to everything he does. It’s really contradictory.” Junmyeon reached over for the kit again and scooted closer to Baekhyun. “Turn around, you wanted me to see you back, right?”

 

“Yeah, take a picture, I want to see the ugly scar that will form later.” Baekhyun threw the blanket next to him and tugged off his shirt over his head, the two articles making a small pile on the sofa. “And I don’t give in to everything, it’s just… I don’t know why it’s so hard to say no to him. I just can’t.”

 

“Well, imprinting is different for everyone as far as I’m concern.” Junmyeon started unwrapping the bandage around Baekhyun’s abdomen as he took his time, trying to not hurt his friend. Pretty soon, the blood on the bandages were starting to be visible. “Why is there so much blood? Damn, Baekhyun, where did you fall? I just feel on some branches.”

 

“I don’t know, I wasn’t even conscious.” He felt something sting on his back, causing him to yelp in surprise and almost jump off the sofa. “What was that! Junmyeon, you’re supposed to check on it, not make it worse!”

 

“I put some alcohol on it since they’re it still hasn’t scabbed yet. Plus, I need to clean it since there’s a lot of dried blood on it. I’ll put you on some new bandages anyways, don’t worry.”

 

“Well, if I scream and accidently murder you or something-“

 

“We were about to get murdered yesterday, don’t remind me.” Baekhyun felt the cotton ball on his gash behind his back, and not wanting to give off the reaction he did just seconds before, he dug his nails into his palms, leaving small crescent moons on the pink skin. “Baekhyun, you’re way too tense, just relax.”

 

“You want me to relax after everything that just happened?”  
  
“No, I want you to relax so that I can clean your injuring without you jumping down my throat. We have to get you ready for tomorrow, after all.”

 

***

 

Chanyeol was having second thoughts.

 

Not second thoughts about Baekhyun, of course, fuck, why would he think that? No, from the little that Chanyeol knew of his mate, he could tell that Baekhyun was a wonderful person and deserved the best. And that’s why Chanyeol was freaking out.

 

Baekhyun, with his small petite frame and petite waist, made Chanyeol just want to cuddle him for eternity. The way his lips made an ‘ㅅ’ shape when he pouted, the way his eyes always shined as if it were reflected the sun, the way Baekhyun looked like sunlight himself.

 

Chanyeol was whipped and he knew it.

 

When Baekhyun blurted out to him of having a minimum of 2 dates a week, Chanyeol was glad he didn’t give him a maximum, because he was sure he would go on a date with him every day of the week. Not that he wanted to annoy Baekhyun, so he would start slow first. First things first, Chanyeol was treating him to a picnic. That couldn’t hurt, right?

 

When Chanyeol arrived to the house the next day with everything, he still had a half-hour till the allotted time, so he decided to hop on the swing that the two males had on their porch as he waited for time to be 5:00 pm, setting the little basket on the wooden floor.

 

Time decided to go as slow as possible.

 

Chanyeol was started to get anxious. He kept turning on his phone, as if it would make time go quicker. It only made him more frustrated, so at last Chanyeol just threw the phone on the swing beside him as he groaned into his hands, not knowing how he was supposed to deal with this. This was what he got for wanting to come early.

 

Ten minutes passed and Chanyeol’s nerves have not calmed a bit. He grabbed his phone again and decided to call Luhan to pass the time.

 

Luhan picked it up on the third ring. “Hey, what is it Chanyeol? Didn’t you say you were heading out-“

 

“How did you impress Minseok?” Chanyeol asked, cutting straight to the point.

 

He heard a scoff on the other line. “I don’t think I have to be honest. Sometimes I question if we actually imprinted at all.”

 

That made Chanyeol scowl. “What do you mean, now you are doubting him? What’s gotten up to you?”

 

“He’s been refusing to talk to me when he woke up, even though I haven’t done anything! I-“

 

“Luhan, I called you to make me feel better and you’re just making me more uneasy.”

“I’m sorry. Well, I hope you luck.” With that, Luhan ended the call.  
  
“Wait, Luhan!” Chanyeol groaned again. “Why won’t anyone give me any advice, god dammit!”

 

He spent the next fifteen  minutes talking to himself.

 

“Remember to ask him if he’s allergic to anything before you serve him the food. Hope he actually like’s something. Ask him questions. Keep complimenting him. Don’t pass as a creep. Don’t tell him about any of your weird habits. Don’t-“

 

The front door opened with Junmyeon’s head poking out. “Chanyeol? What are you doing? Come on in, Baekhyun’s almost done.”

 

Chanyeol skyrocketed out of the swing, landing a bit too hard on his feet. “Okay!” He swiftly grabbed the basket off the ground and entered the house after Junmyeon, who closed the door behind him.

 

Just when he entered, Baekhyun was already halfway down the stairs. “Stairs are going to be my enemy,” he muttered under his breath, not noticing that Chanyeol was there.

  
“Baekhyun, we have a guest,” Junmyeon spoke up, already racing to Baekhyun as he grabbed his friend’s hand to help him finished climbing down the steps. “I told you not to do that yourself.”

“Bu-but I told you l don’t like to ask for favors.” Baekhyun looked up to Chanyeol, who gave him a small wave. “Oh, uh, hey,” he waved back.

 

Chanyeol couldn’t resist but grin. “I hope you like where we’re going. I did my best. Do you want me to carry you?”

“No, it’s fine, I can walk, it just hurts a bit.” Baekhyun walked to the front door, giving a hug to Junmyeon. “I’ll be back.”

 

“Yeah, remember to text me in case of anything,” Junmyeon said. “Good luck!”

 

Chanyeol was going to need all the luck he could get.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story is going to take some time to progress, but next chapter will have a little more of Junmyeon's backstory, as well as maybe some more characters mentioned/appearing. You guys probably just want to see someone biting someone's neck, lol. I wanted to update yesterday but the wifi went out. If there's no more issues today, I'll update later or tomorrow, so hang in there!
> 
> And don't worry, you guys will see how the date ends up. Let me know of any errors!
> 
> **Edit** I legit just posted and I saw an error, I'm so embarrassed *sigh*


	6. Okayness Level

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if there are any mistakes. Here, I made my promise!
> 
> *edit* oh my i forgot to add the chapter title sorry lol

He was lost.

 

He didn’t know what he expected to accomplish. Hell, he just went to the place for the first time yesterday, he wasn’t going to automatically find the location that quickly. And yet, here he was, away from his and Baekhyun’s home and definition not close to the underground home where they found themselves yesterday.

 

Even though it’s been half an hour, from watching Baekhyun leave with Chanyeol, from departing from the house, from realizing he was fucking lost, Junmyeon decided to take a break and sit on a nearby log, the wood layers peeling away and covered with white spots here and there.

 

Did Junmyeon not almost get murdered yesterday? Why the hell was he walking outside all alone, even if it was still daylight outside. Junmyeon thought he had a knack for these types of stuff, but apparently not since he was now fucking lost.

 

He really wanted to send a text to Minseok (since the other mentioned that he could track him down) but he felt like it would be too much to ask, considering how Minseok appeared to still be worn out when they left yesterday and he hasn’t heard from the other since. Besides, he went looking for the place so that he could check up on him to see how he was doing, and calling Minseok for help would ruin the whole point.

 

Minseok….Xiumin……this was too much for Junmyeon to handle.

 

Deciding that he wasn’t going to find the place, Junmyeon got back up and decided to just head straight until he saw civilization. He had his phone and wallet with him, so he could always ask someone to drive him to the familiar gas station so that he could walk his way back home. But that plan didn’t happen either.

 

After Junmyeon had been walking for a few minutes, he heard someone in the distance. Not wanting another catastrophe like the other day, he spun himself around, ready to launch an attack to the person first because they could even think about harming him.

 

It turned out to be that Kris though.

 

“Hey, what are you doing here?” He asked Junmyeon, puzzled. “Didn’t Chanyeol leave with your friend?”  


Junmyeon was not sure if he should feel comfortable or more awkward with the vampire present. He was sort of heavily leaning towards the latter. “He did. I’m by myself.”

  
  
“Why?” Kris crossed his arms in front of him, unsure of what Junmyeon’s motives were. The red band between his pupils and iris appeared to become more bolder the longer he stared at him. Junmyeon was pretty sure that same color was on his face.

 

“I just… wanted to see how Minseok was doing,” he admitted, turning his head to stare at the floor as he started fiddling his fingers. He felt like a child who was being scolded for not behaving.

 

Kris rolled his eyes at him and started walking away. “After everything that just happened, you still feel the need to walk alone…. Come on, just follow me. You were way off, by the way.”

 

Junmyeon looked up, surprised at Kris’ offer. Was the man really going to lead him? Not wanting to waste any more time, Junmyeon raced up to Kris, trying to match the other’s fast pace.

 

They walked in silence for a while, the only sound coming from the crunch of the fallen leaves every time their feet made contact with the ground beneath. From what Junmyeon has seen, this guy wasn’t much of a talker, and he didn’t try to pass as one either.

 

When the two of them arrived to the underground location, Kris leading the two of them down the stairs into the familiar large room, he didn’t expect to be greeted by a half-asleep Luhan, limbs sprawled out over one of the couches.

 

“Luhan.” Kris walked over and flicked his finger on Luhan’s forehead, causing him to jolt awake and fall off his spot on the sofa. Kris made no motion to stop Luhan from falling or to help him get back up. “What are you doing, didn’t you have to meet Jongdae?”

 

Luhan rubbed his eyes for a moment, mad that someone was ruining the sleep that he was just starting to get. “ I was,” he started, “but I called it off until Minseok feels better.”  


“He’s just giving you the silent treatment, there’s nothing wrong with him-“

 

“But he looks really stressed out.” Luhan got off from the floor and sat right back on the couch, only this time he wasn’t laying down. “I can’t leave him alone. I asked Jongdae to come here instead. Weren’t you supposed to meet someone too?”

 

Kris frowned. “They were dead by the time I arrived.”

 

 _What the fuck_ Junmyeon screamed internally, not knowing how these two men could talk about death so casually.

 

Luhan’s expression became more serious. He lifted his arm to scratch the back of his neck, casting his eyes down towards the floor. “The hunters are getting more serious nowadays, am I right?”

 

_Hunters?_

The group hasn’t explained to Baekhyun and Junmyeon any information about hunters, only that the men who tried to kidnap them were hunting them for something. Why, they weren’t told, but it appeared to be a delicate topic of conversation to the group.

 

Kris continued talking. “Maybe we should contact Sehun, see if he knows any more information about them, considering he used to be one.”

 

Luhan shook his head. “Not after the tragedy with Tao, you know that.” He sighed. “I still have no idea what the fuck we’re going to do.”

 

“We just need more ti-“ their bickering was interrupted when they saw Minseok in the door, a blue fuzzy blanket draping his whole body as he clutched it tightly.

 

Minseok yawned, extending one of his arms to rub his eyes before he spoke. “Junmyeon, what are you doing here? I thought you left…” he drawled out, eyes already fluttering to a close.

 

“Oh, uh…” this was the first time Junmyeon was speaking ever since he arrived. “I just wanted to see how you were.”

 

Minseok didn’t reply, eyes still closed as he hummed a little. “I just fainted, it wasn’t a big deal….” Another yawn. “I don’t feel so good…”

 

“Minseokkie, sweetie, I told you to that if you don’t feel good to just rest.” Luhan stood up and rushed towards his boyfriend who kept pushing him away.

 

“No…it’s fine.” Yawn. Minseok lifted his hands to viciously rub his face, the skin beneath it turning red the more time he spent rubbing it. He still had his hands over his eyes when he called out for Junmyeon to follow him.

 

Junmyeon remained quiet as he followed his friend down the corridor with Minseok eventually entering an open bedroom, throwing himself on the bed, not bothering to fix the tangled sheets under him.

 

“As you can see,  I’m tired,” Minseok started,  voice muffled considering how he was still faced down on the bed.

 

“I can leav-“

 

“No, I meant that’s why I’m extremely lazy recently. I’m just filled with fatigue every day and it bothers me.”

 

Junmyeon’s face softened as walked up to the bed, placing a hand on Minseok’s back. “Don’t get so worked up, Xiumin, it’s okay-“

 

“No, you don’t understand.” Xiumin lifted up his head and looked upwards at Junmyeon, who was now rubbing circles on his back. “Everything has been so stressful lately. Everything is piling up against me and I’m suffocating more than when Luhan hugs me, which is rare. Why do you think I’ve been bailing on you and Baekhyun lately?”  


All the pieces have been put together. Why Minseok haven’t been able to hang out with them as much, why he was so secretive, why he also had markings on him. Minseok almost always had bruises on his skin but he claimed he was clumsy, so they never took note of it.

 

It was all under their noses.

 

Maybe talking to him will help him release all those bottled up feelings inside. “Well, it can’t all be that serious. All problems have a solution after all.”

 

“Even in math, you learn that’s not true.” Minseok rolled his eyes at him and sat up, some blankets falling to the floor at his sudden movement. “Well, why don’t you tell me how to defeat all those demons who keep coming at me who want to turn me completely? Is there a magical solution for that? One that doesn’t involve you guys or I getting injured or losing our property?”

 

Junmyeon was stunned at his sudden outburst. “I-“

 

“And those are just demons after me. What about those after Kris since he’s a pureblood? Or witches too? Our blood is _super_ rare to them, and they must all have it apparently. Or what about Chanyeol? I have to take care of his ass bcause he puts everyone, including me, before him, not caring for his safety. And now he’s going to do that to you and Baekhyun too. Or Luhan, he’s always getting injured because of me.  Tell me, Junmyeon, how do I deal with that? We’re not even talking about all those enemies I had defeated over the years because of you.”

 

“But why?” Junmyeon blurted out. “Why do you have to protect me so much? You told me I was special, but that’s so cliché, Xiumin. You can’t just call me and expect me to conform with that.”

 

“I can’t tell you, okay? All I can do if say you’re human, but not quite. That’s all I can say.”

 

“Why won’t you tell me? Is it so bad tha-“

 

“No you don’t get it. I _physically_ cannot tell you.” Minseok looked away, not wanting to look at Junmyeon’s eyes. “I’m under a spell. It’s impossible for me to say it. I can only be vague.”

 

“Wait, a… spell?” 

 

“Remember when I said more creatures exist? Wait, I shouldn’t use that term, it’s offensive,” Minseok trailed off, trying to remember exactly what he told the two the other day. “Oh, I was going to tell you witches exist but Baekhyun kept distracting with his questions.”

 

“Like if ghosts exist.”

 

“Yeah, that. Anyways, witches exist, but most don’t really do that much damage. There’s only like a handful of really powerful ones. I’ve only met two, but one is dead and one is missing. Stupid hunters. Anyways, your mom’s best friend was a witch and put a spell on me so that I don’t say anything.”

 

“What if I guess and you nod or something?”

 

“I can’t confirm it either. The spell’s really good you can’t even notice me lying or struggling at all. I think the spell goes away when you find out, but it won’t be from me.”

 

“Wow... that’s….”

 

“Impressive, yeah, I know.”

 

“Wait, but you said they were my mom’s best friend, right? Are they-“

 

“No, she’s missing. She disappeared when the incident occurred with your mother and father.”

 

“What happen to them?” Junmyeon wasn’t going to stop asking questions.

 

“Your mom got……injured, I guess, so now she’s gone, and your dad too. A lot of people were after them because of your dad being completely human and…..not your mom. Let’s just say that they saved a lot of good people and thus angered a lot of bad ones.”

 

Junmyeon half-nodded, not really paying attention at that point. So his parents _were_ murdered, then. And they weren’t bad people either.

 

Junmyeon didn’t know if it was supposed to make him feel better or worse. Knowing that they were good people, that they would have wanted to be with him made him feel better, but being murdered also means that they didn’t deserve it.

 

“Anyways, I have a question.” Minseok interrupted his thoughts. “What were the other two talking about? Luhan is refusing to tell me anything.”

  
  
“I thought you were refusing to talk to him though.”

 

  
  
“That’s true. There’s just some stuff I can’t tell him, even if I trust him enough.”

  
  
Junmyeon didn’t know if it was in his place to tell. There must have been a reason if Luhan was holding stuff back from Minseok, even if the latter was doing the same thing. “They mentioned a Jongdae coming here?”

  
  
“Oh, Chen? I haven’t seen him in a while,” Minseok answered. “He’s a vampire like Kris, although a common one, but he’s an idiot like Chanyeol. He also has a human mate, Yixing. I think you guys will like him. The only humans he ever interacts with are those with supernatural mates and are either too scared to speak a sentence or assholes.”

 

“Wouldn’t I be in the scared category?”

  
  
“Probably, I don’t know.” Minseok laid back down on the bed. “Tell me when either Baekhyun and Chanyeol or Chen come back. I’m going to sleep for a bit.”

 

That was the last thing Minseok said to him before closing his eyes.

 

***

 

Chanyeol wasn’t telling him anything.

 

Maybe Chanyeol was going to murder him. There could be knives in the basket for all Baekhyun knows. Or maybe Chanyeol will just kill him in wolf form. The possibilities were endless.

 

Good think Baekhyun had his will written in his dresser. Maybe he should texted Junmyeon the location.

 

The only thing Baekhyun was hoping for was that they won’t go anywhere public. He was wearing his best navy blue sweater and dark-wash jeans, covering most of the marks that he had received the other day. The only ones he couldn’t cover were the ones on his face and neck, so he had to apply some massive amounts of foundation and concealer on them, trying to make it as natural as possible. He always whipped out his eyeliner trying to look as intimidating as possible, and he smothered a thin layer of gloss over his lips. He had styled his hair with some spritz, and Baekhyun had put some of the cologne that Junmyeon brought him for his birthday. He looked dashing in his opinion, and by the way Chanyeol kept stealing glances at him, it appeared he thought so, too.

 

Baekhyun smiled. Even if there were some stuff going against him on his first date (like that shitty brace for example) the date wasn’t going so bad.

 

And bad it never became. Chanyeol eventually led him to small clearing that Baekhyun and Junmyeon went sometimes, mainly because of the small, clean stream right beside it. Probably satisfied that no one killed them on the way there, Chanyeol finally let out a sigh of relief as he sat down, finally opening that basket that he brought with them as he started digging around.

 

That’s when it dawned to Baekhyun that Chanyeol brought them to a _picnic._

 

Well, he should have known that because of the wicker basket. Wasn’t that cliché, though? Going on a picnic on the first date, having that basket, and if Chanyeol pulled out the legendary red and white checkered table cloth, Baekhyun was going to sc-

 

Oh wait. Chanyeol pulled out a black one, a hole on every corner so that they could put a plug on it to maintain its place on the ground. Nevermind.

 

Still, though. A picnic was cliché, though.

 

Good thing Baekhyun loved clichés.

 

Baekhyun tried to sit down on the ground to help Chanyeol with extending it, but he shooed him away. “Don’t worry, I got it. You shouldn’t move too much because of your ankle.” This meant Baekhyun had to stand awkwardly for a minute waiting for Chanyeol to finish.

 

Chanyeol helped him sit down on the cloth, giving him his arms so that Baekhyun could hold on to something before stretching his legs across the ground, while Chanyeol sat crisscrossed. When the two of them settled down, that’s when Chanyeol started pulling out an assortment of dishes.

 

Damn, Baekhyun was getting hungry. Chanyeol may have been a wolf, but Baekhyun’s stomach was _growling_ at the sight of bulgogi, japchae, samgyeopsal and samgyetang.

 

Maybe it was a good thing that his mate was a wolf since Baekhyun had an appetite of one.

 

Chanyeol took out two water bottles and a plastic bag with cutlery, finally handing some to Baekhyun before saying “Dig in,” Baekhyun’s (only) favorite order.

 

And that was it, for a while. The forest was silent, with the only things being heard consisting of the sounds of birds chirping, leaves falling, and the two of them slurping everything.

 

And it was perfect.

 

Chanyeol didn’t spoke up until they were almost halfway done with everything. “I see you like food, then. I was scared you weren’t going to like it.”

 

Baekhyun was midway chewing on the pork stripes, so it was silent again for about 5 seconds while he finished. He swallowed loudly before responding. “I didn’t say thank you, did I?”  
  
If Chanyeol let out that damn smi-

 

Nevermind, he did.

 

If only Baekhyun’s classes could teach him how to stop melting in response to it.

 

“It’s fine. I’m just glad to know that it’s not just me who eats everything.” Chanyeol started frowning. “Wait, don’t tell me that you’re only eating it to be polite right? You don-“

 

“No, believe me, it’s all really good.” Baekhyun stuff another pork strip into his mouth and chewed on it. “I love food, hell, I was getting ice cream before I was almost killed. Really, thank you.”

 

“No problem.” Chanyeol smiled away as if he never frowned at all. “So that’s what is was. Your friend had a backpack and while Kris carried him home, it was all leaking down his back. We thought it had your belongings but it only had food, so he threw out everything and put it in the washer with the rest of your clothes.”

  
  
“Yeah, I saw that,” Baekhyun said. “You even got this sharpie stain out, which has been taking ages for Junmyeon to get rid of. I think after all those day’s events, that one probably surprised him the most.”

 

The two of them couldn’t help but start laughing at that comment.

 

“Oh my gosh,” Chanyeol was clutching his stomach, his chopsticks already lost in his lap. “You got to be kidding me, right? That’s so-“

 

“Funny? I know right? He was so marveled at it and kept bringing it up, although if was to distract him from the other stuff, I don’t know. It’s just funny to think about that.”

 

“But you,” Chanyeol kept laughing, trying to take gulps of air in between. “You… made that comment about ghosts, remember?”

  
  
“Ah, don’t remind me!” Baekhyun pouted, arms crossed at his chest. “I was just curious because I had originally thought of watching horror movies that night! And I always get scared afterwards! Don’t blame me!”

 

Chanyeol stopped laughing. “Don’t worry, I won’t let any ghost harm you.”

 

Out there in the forest, even with the nice cool air present, Baekhyun felt it suddenly getting hot, redness creeping up his neck. He couldn’t help but get flustered.

 

Chanyeol didn’t take note (he hoped) and started looking for his chopsticks. “Dang it, those were my favorite pair! Oh, well, we still have cheesecake to eat afterwards.”

  
  
“Cheesecake? You brought cheesecake?”

 

“Huh? Yeah, I brought some, I didn’t know what desserts you like ex- Aha! Found them!” He waved his chopsticks in the air. “Now I can finish my japchae.”

 

Baekhyun couldn’t help but smile. Later he would wonder why it felt so nice being in the other’s presence, but it the moment all he could do was enjoy it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I won't be able to update this story for most of July, for which I apologize. I will be occupied with some stuff and I won't be able to write. So I'm going to try to write as much as I can for this month. Don't worry! It is a series, after all, and it will take some time to get finished.
> 
> Hmmm... I take I made you guys more questions than I gave answers. Oops.
> 
> Sorry, Baek, I got you cheesecake instead of ice cream. Lol, I ate an ice cream sandwich earlier.


	7. Bouquets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chen... just chen in real life, to be honest, lol

Jongdae came around one hour later.

 

Luhan was alone in the living room, eyes occasionally flickering to the screen of the television when it mentioned stories of people being killed , always in fear that they might get exposed. (Yes, Luhan was aware that the three of them murdered people, but that was in regards to self-defense. How some humans killed… honestly, who had the capacity to do that? Douse them in acid, store their organs in a fridge, killed their entire family just because of a breakup? Not just humans, too. There are so many sick people in this planet.)

 

This is why he tensed up when he heard someone at the door. Was it policemen that had been following their trail? What is someone after Minseok again? Someone else who had been tracking Baekhyun and Junmyeon’s whereabo-

 

Oh, wait, it was probably Jongdae.

 

Jongdae had his own key to the place since he sometimes came to crash or just to hang out. That didn’t stop Luhan’s paranoia, though, especially when he heard two pairs of footsteps. He only relaxed when he saw that it was Yixing, a timid expression shown on his face, clutching onto Jongdae’s coat while the latter had his stupid grin on.

 

“LUHAN!! Hey, what are you doing?!” Jongdae ran towards Luhan with Yixing stumbling after having lost his grasp on Jongdae, who was now hugging Luhan as if his life depended on it.

 

“Jo-jong-uh-che-,” Luhan manages to sputter out, more focused on trying to catch his breath.

 

Jongdae let go after around 5 seconds after noticing his mate fell on the floor. “Yixing, are you okay!?” he shouted, hunched down as he rubbed Yixing’s back, who gave him a small nod. Jongdae, still on the floor, turned towards Luhan, who  was still exaggerating on his breathing. “Sorry, hyung, it’s just been a while since I’ve seen you. How’s life?”

 

“Exhausting,” Luhan replied. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”

 

“Oh, well, that’s… interesting…” Jongdae trailed off when he saw Kris enter the room, scowl ever-so present on his face. “Kris!! How ha-“

 

“Swear to god, don’t touch me.” Kris shouted, already throwing himself on the couch. “I have enough to do as it is.”

 

“Okay, Mr. Damn-Beautiful, whatever you say.”

 

Kris shot his head up, staring at Jongdae in disbelief. “What the fuck did you just say?”

 

“What I meant to say was that you can’t flirt or compliment someone for shit,” Jongdae replied, an almost-never-present serious look on his face. “I heard about the encounter with the two humans. More weddings that’ll I’ll be able to att-“

 

“No one is fucking complimenting anyone,” Kris interrupted.

 

“Oh, really? How do you explain the comment th-“

 

“His short friend is just intimidating!”

 

“Intimidating? Kris, you’re the person here who looks like a fucking bully all the time, and from what I’ve heard, Chanyeol is already head over heels for the kid, so don’t try to-“

 

“What news do you have for us?” Kris was trying to desperately change the subject.

 

Jongdae wanted to be reluctant, but one look at Kris’ murderous face changed his mind. He opened the flap of his bag and reached in, pulling out a slick, thin black folder with some undecipherable writing on the front cover. “Quite a few stuff, actually, but the main issue is that Song’s group is planning something anything and he’s after all of us again.”

 

“Uh, can’t that old piece of shit die already? Come on, he’s been around way longer than me.” Kris took the folder from Jongdae’s offering hand and flipped through the pages, eyes squinting as he skimmed it. “Holy shit, are these-“

 

“Accounts of murder,” Jongdae finished for him. “We’re having trouble handling it. There are rumors going around that Song’s group has sided with some demons. I think one of them is the one who-“

 

“Chen, is that you?” The four of them turned to face the hallway, where Minseok and Junmyeon were currently standing. Minseok still had that same cotton blanket wrapped around himself, yawning as he lifted up the hand still clenched with the blanket up to rub his eyes. Luhan had to restrain himself from kissing him right there.

 

“Minnie!” Jongdae rushed to where Minseok was standing and hugged him as well, although not as tight as he hugged Luhan earlier since he had been told that Minseok haven’t been feeling well lately. “I missed you! How have you been?”

 

“Is everyone acting like I’m dying or something? I just fainted, for crying out loud.”

 

“Yeah, but you know how we have to be careful since…..” he glanced at Luhan who sent him a glare. “Nevermind, anyways,” Jongdae let go of Minseok and saw an unfamiliar person next to him. Short height, brown hair, kind of small, smelled like a human but not quite, silent. “You must be one of the humans they found the other day, right?”

 

“Oh, that’s Junmyeon,” Kris said. “The other one, Baekhyun, is the one who imprinted on Chanyeol. They’ll be back in a bit.”

 

“Like I said, more weddings I’ll be attending! Anyways,” Jongdae reached out his hand and gave Junmyeon a handshake. “I’m Jongdae, or Chen ask Minseok likes to call me. It’s so nice to meet you Junmyeon!”

 

“Umm, yeah, you too,” Junmyeon replied.

 

“He’s not scared of us, right?” Jongdae asked Minseok, who gave a shrug. “Either way,” Jongdae waved for Yixing to come forward. Yixing was also as timid as Junmyeon. “This is the best boyfriend in the world, Yixing.”

 

“You said Minseok’s name wrong,” Luhan replied.

 

“No, I’m pretty sure Yixing is the best boyfriend in the worl-“

 

“No I have the best boyfriend-“

 

“No I do!”

 

“No I do!”

 

“No I-“

 

“Guys, it’s obviously Baekhyun.” All of them turned around and were surprised to find Chanyeol in the doorway, empty picnic basket set on the ground. Baekhyun was in his arms, carried bridal style, the ever so prominent brace present. “Hey, Jongdae, Yixing, it’s been a while.”

 

“Chanyeol, you’re here! When’s the wedding?”

 

“Jongdae, what is you obsessions with weddings these days? Why don’t you get married first?” Kris didn’t want Chen to bring the conversation back to him.

 

“I guess we should just skip the introductions and have I explained why I need to speak to you guys in the first place.”

 

***

 

“So…. You need us to go back to your place?”

 

“Essentially, yes.” They were all seated around in the living room, Jongdae’s papers in their hands as they conversed about the critical situation they were in. “I’m sure you guys heard about the incident with Yixing last month.”

 

Baekhyun and Junmyeon looked at each other with their “what the fuck” faces that they keep exchanging. The others keep bringing up a lot of events and topics that they had no clue about whatsoever. Besides, Minseok only gave them like a crash course the other day.

 

“Yeah, thank god nothing grave happened with him,” Luhan answered. “Minseok has had issues lately as well, and remember with that run in with that demon, uh, I forgot his name-“

 

“You didn’t ask for its name before you snapped his neck, Luhan.”

 

“Kris, you act like you don’t snap their necks either-“

 

“Wait, but if we leave, what are we going to do with those two?” Chanyeol asked, pointing to Junmyeon and Baekhyun. “I mean-“

 

“Oh, hell no, they’re aren’t going,” Minseok cut in. “They aren’t involved with this, so they are staying. They don’t know defense and this isn’t some movie where they can learn it in a week and defeat the main villain. I’m not going to watch them get hurt.”

 

“But, we can’t leave alone, Minseok, what if someone-“

 

“That is precisely why I’m staying.”

 

“Minseok!” Kris shouted. “You can’t _stay_! We need-“

 

“Me? Why is it because of-“  


“No, Minseok, I told you we can’t leave you alone, haven’t you seen all those people after you?” Luhan also got into the argument. “I don’t think it would be-“

 

“I can handle myself, Luhan, I was doing fine my entire life before I met you!” Minseok stopped shouting, instantly regretting what he said. “I….I just-“

 

“This makes no sense,” Chanyeol interrupted. “I can’t leave Baekhyun alone. We all agree Junmyeon and Baekhyun can’t be alone. Minseok can’t be without them. Minseok can’t be alone. Why don’t we all just stay?”

 

“Look, we need help, guys. You guys have dealt with a bunch of shit, and I’m stuck with newbies. I don’t know who else to rely on.”

 

“What about Jongin and Kyungsoo?” Kris asked. “They’re the ones with the newbies, right? Why don’t we leave Baekhyun and Junmyeon in the care of them?”

 

“Well, they’re coming along, too, but I don’t see why not,” Yixing said.

 

“We can’t have people knowing they are there, though,” Minseok mentioned. “I know Kyungsoo isn’t a powerful witch yet, but do you think he can make a masking spell for them?”

 

“He could a lot more than that, you know. He’s like, well, at an intermediate level.” Jongdae paused. “Oh, did I tell you that he finally accepted that Jongin dude?”

 

“No way, that werewolf has been chasing him for _ages,_ ” Luhan exclaimed.

 

“What, longer than you and Min-“

 

“You shut the hell up, Kris,” Luhan shushed him. “By the way, when do you want us to go?”

 

“Preferably in the next few days. I think Sehun is coming, too.”

 

“Well, that’s a rare occurrence,” Kris commented. “I wonder why-“

 

“I threatened him, it wasn’t that big of a deal.”

 

“Of course you did.”

 

“What, exactly,” Minseok started, “Is the Song group’s goal again? Wasn’t he trying to bring back his dead girlfriend or something?”

 

“Oh, he did that,” Luhan said. “But then she wanted to dump him after a while so he killed her. She died again.”

 

“How lovely.”

 

“Well,” Jongdae said. “He’s been bringing a bunch of stuff back of the dead lately and controlling them. Mostly demons and vampires. Not wolves, though, I don’t know why.”

 

“Hey, what’s wrong with us?” Chanyeol asked. “It’s like vampires are any better.”

 

“Reasons why wolves suck,” Kris said. “Number 1, an idiot named Chanyeol is a wolf.”

 

“Reasons why vampires suck,” Chanyeol teased back. “Wait, you guys suck blood either way, haha!”

 

“Uh, you know how old those jokes get,” Kris complained.

 

“What, as old as you-“

 

“Um, before my life gets threatened, I want to know what I’m being dragged into,” Baekhyun spoked up, quieting the whole group. Baekhyun and Junmyeon hadn’t peeped a word the entire time.

 

“Oh, Baekkie, we have to defeat this group of evil people and we can’t leave you guys alone,” Chanyeol explained.

 

“Yeah, I understood that, I’m not deaf, but you guys are speaking like Junmyeon and I know the whole situation.”

 

“The Song group,” Minseok replied, “Is a group run by, you guess it, Song. No one knows his name since he keeps changing it, so he’s referred to his surname. Anyways, he’s been around longer than Kris and he’s been involved with a lot of incidents that result in someone dying or getting hurt. Junmyeon, your mother defeated him once, but he possessed another body, but anyways, remember the two guys trying to kidnap you when you were six? It was his people-“

 

“Wait how do you know about that,” Junmyeon asked. “I don’t even know much about that-wait, why would he want to kidnap me-“

 

“This guy has done a bunch of shit and it would take all day to explain it,” Kris spoke up. “But if you see anyone with a strange marking on their neck, it’s his people.”

 

“So now I’m supposed to question people with tattoos,” Baekhyun responded, eyes rolling.

 

“Listen here you little shit-“

 

“DON’T CALL MY BAEKHYUNNIE THAT-“

 

“What’s up with you guys and the pet names now?” 

 

“I swear you guys are all siblings considering how you won’t stop bickering,” Jongdae said. He stood up and stretched his arms, groaning a little before continuing. “Anyways, I’m going to sleep-“

 

“It’s like 7.”

 

“And I haven’t slept for 37 hours,” Jongdae retorted back. “Yixing, I’ll prepare your stuff, okay?” He went to where Yixing was sitting on the couch and gave him a peck. “Make sure you don’t sleep too late.”

 

“Okay.” Yixing kissed Jongdae back, his face slowly turning red as he looped his arms around his boyfriend. “I hope you sleep well.”

 

“Can you guys, like, not-“

 

“Luhan, you act like no one deals with your sappy ass. Besides, I am about to get my own room, so bye suckers.”

 

“Was that threat directed towards me?” Kris started shouting. “Watch your back, Jongdae, because I’m going to murder you in your sleep later.”

 

“Mmm, okay, I don’t care. Night, everyone,” Jongdae left the group and went to the hallway to go to his room.

 

“We’re all pathetic,” Minseok said.

 

Junmyeon couldn’t help but agree.

 

***

 

“And he had samgyeopsal, Junmyeon, can you believe it! He’s the one I’m sure. And he even had cheesecake, honestly it-“

 

“You have a messed up personality, Baek, you complain about him one moment and then praise him the next-“

 

“I don’t care, it’s just hard to hate him when you see him, and it’s not his fault that this whole imprinting exists-“

 

“Do you even know what you want-“

 

“Why don’t we talk about you and Kris-“

 

“You make me feel like a leftover since we’re the only two people single-"

 

“Even if you weren’t single, he would still be ogling at you-“

 

“Tell me about your date, again-“

  
  
“Oh, so he carried me back home, it was so kind of him, I think I want to make him a cake-“

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo I'm back, and yes, the story on Wattpad and Asian Fanfics is mine, not plagiarized, so (sorry I just have to repeat that I don't want my own account to be reported)
> 
> so what do you guys think? any new questions you guys have? i want to hear your theories; it's not BTS level but should be close.
> 
> STREAM SHINEE OUR PAGE I LOVE IT BUT IT MADE ME CRY AND I'M LISTENING TO BTS SPRING RN IT"S NOT HELPING  
> (plus the new album has a song with Jonghyun in it...its been so long)


	8. Landing

They left exactly three days later.

 

Baekhyun asked Chanyeol how long they were going to stay. The other didn’t have an answer.

 

Junmyeon did the same to Minseok. The answer was the same.

 

“Junmyeonnnnnnn,” Baekhyun groaned from his position on the floor. The two of them found themselves in Baekhyun’s room, Junmyeon sitting comfortably on his friend’s bed while the other was laying face down on the ground, piles of clothing all around him. Needless to say, the room was a disaster. “What are we going to doooo-“

 

“Baekhyun, you don’t need that much, I’m pretty sure they have a washing machine.”

 

“No, like, maybe I should bring the kitchen knives, didn’t you here them complain about defense or something? It hasn’t even been a week since we came in contact with them and now we have to leave? Did you forget that we have college classes-“

 

“Which are online-“

 

“What are we even going to do there? Are they just going to lock us in the room or something? Ar-“

 

“It’s not like we do anything here, either-“

 

“Junmyeon.” Baekhyun lifted his face from the ground, red lines all over his face from where the carpet was being pressed on. “You’re not helping me.”

 

“I didn’t realize you needed help with anything.”

 

“Oh my gosh, why are you being so.. so _sassy_ lately? And besides,” Baekhyun turned around and lifted his leg on the air. “I need help with this.”

 

“Not with you on the ground.”

 

“You shut up.” Baekhyun raised his torso up so that he was sitting on his knees. “Damn it, my leg fell asleep.”

 

“We should go to sleep, soon.” Junmyeon lifted up his phone. “It’s past ten. Aren’t they going to pick us up in the morning, like around 6?”

 

“But I haven’t packed _anything!_ What am I going to-“

 

“You know, if you haven’t been throwing clothes everywhere, maybe you would have been more productive.”

 

Baekhyun scoffed at him. “Well, _excuse_ me for wanting to look decent. I’m still going to get my dates even when we’re there. I can’t-“

 

“Chanyeol will be too busy defending others and killing people, I really doubt that he’s going to being thinking what to make you for dinner.”

 

“You’re just pissed because Kri-“

 

“Look, why don’t you go to sleep,” Junmyeon said while getting off of Baekhyun’s bed. He walked over to where Baekhyun was sitting and extended his hand. “And I pack your stuff. You shouldn’t be moving too much, anyways. Don’t forget to change your bandages.”

 

“Should I trust you…hmmm..” Baekhyun pretended to think for a moment before accepting his friend’s hand, who pulled him up until they were both standing. “Only if you buy me a cupcake.”

 

“Did you not just make Chanyeol a cake yesterday?”

 

“You can never eat to many sweets, Junmyeon. I get diabetic just looking at him-“

 

“I don’t think that’s how it works-“

 

“There are supernatural people, Junmyeon, I don’t care how anything works.” Baekhyun covered his mouth, yawning, before continuing. “Well, I’m going to sleep, good night.”

 

“About time.”

 

“Wait Junmyeon, can you sleep in my bed tonight?” Baekhyun asked. “I’m scared.”

 

“Yeah, no problem, Baek.”

 

***

 

“This is the place, right?” Kris turned to ask Chanyeol. “I mean, you’re the only one who’s been inside their house.”

 

“Well, only twice. And Minseok has been here plenty of times.”

 

“I don’t care, if this turns out to be the wrong house, I’m kicking your ass.”

 

“See if I give a damn.” They were interrupted when Junmyeon opened the door, eyes immediately squinting (even though there wasn’t any sunlight – is was 6:00 am after all.)

 

“Oh, you guys are here, good morning.” He yawned and motioned them to come in. “We’re almost done, Baekhyun is just packing breakfast for you guys.”

 

They all stepped into the corridor as they heard Baekhyun shout “MORNINGGGG” from the kitchen. Junmyeon and Baekhyun had stacked their two small suitcases on the coffee table, Junmyeon’s black one contrasting greatly with Baekhyun’s navy blue one with silver glitter splashed everywhere. Junmyeon had spent a great deal that morning convincing Baekhyun that no, he did not need to bring twenty shirts, might as well bring his whole wardrobe, the five that Junmyeon packed were enough. The two cups of coffee that Junmyeon had consumed earlier did not ease the fact that he was running on 5 hours of sleep.

 

Baekhyun stepped out of the kitchen and was holding his beloved blue bento box, all wrapped up with two strands of silver ribbon. “I made us food for later.”

 

“He thinks we’re going to starve, don’t worry about him-“

 

“NO I’M NOT YOU’RE THE ONE WHO BURNED MY PANCAKES EARLIER-“

 

“Is that everything you guys are bringing?” Kris asked, pointing to their suitcases on the table. “It’s still not confirmed when we are coming back.”

 

Baekhyun stuck his tongue at Junmyeon. “Told you.”

 

“Oh shut up, Baekhyun, just buy something while we’re there.”

 

“All you have are jeans and sweaters, Junmyeon, how do you know we’re not going to, like, Hawaii-“

 

“We’re actually going to Daegu,” Chanyeol said. “That’s most of the strongholds are at. Seoul and Busan are just too big.”

 

“I’ve never been there,” Junmyeon said. “Well, I’ve always been stuck in Seoul, so I wouldn’t know.”

 

“Oh, Daegu is really pretty,” Baekhyun told him. “There’s this one park that I visited, but I think I was in fourth grade-“

 

“You guys have to remember to be careful when we’re there.” Kris was already heading out the door. “There are going to be a lot more people after you.”

 

“Well, who can’t resist me?”

 

“Baekhyun, now is not the time for jokes.”

 

“EXCUSE ME-“

 

***

 

“I have a question,” Junmyeon asked. He was sitting next to Kris in the airport while they waited for their plane to be announced. “Is any information on your passport real? You know, since the others said..well…”

 

“What? That I’m old?” Kris flipped through the book, which appeared to be way smaller than it was in his giant hands. “Well, some of it is falsified, but I try to keep it as accurate as I can.”

 

He showed him the page that had his picture. “My real name when I was born was Wu Yifan. Sometimes I change it sometimes I don’t. Address is where our stronghold is back in Daegu, since our underground home is supposed to be a secret. Real birthday, but year is different for obvious reasons. Picture, hair color, height are all real. My eyes are actually brown, they just have that red circle.”

 

Junmyeon nodded as he process all this new information. “Is it hard to get a fake passport? Or ID’s? I’ve heard of it but I don’t know…”

 

Kris started rubbing the back of his neck. “Well.. not really, you just have to know where to look. I actually get mine from a group of witches sometimes, but other times not. It really just depends on your connections.”

 

“Hard to make connections with other people when you stay locked in your house all day.”

 

“Well, you got me no-I mean us now.”

 

Junmyeon smiled at him, who smiled in return. “Yeah. I guess so.”

 

***

 

“Maybe we should split,” Jongdae suggested. “I highly doubt that Kyungsoo’s van is big enough to hold eight people including himself.”

 

“It’s fine, Jongdae, it’s not like we have much stuff anyways.” Kris reached into his pocket for his phone, waiting for Kyungsoo’s message that he has arrived. “By the  way, Luhan, are you sure we should have left the other four in the gift shop? That’s so tacky.”

 

“Let them look around, Kris. Minseok is keeping an eye on them three. Besides, even Jongdae isn’t fretting over his boyfriend.”

 

“Who said I’m not-“

 

“Yixing knows where trouble is. Surprisingly, so is Chanyeol, even though he is still giggling over that bento box.”

 

The three of them looked at Chanyeol, who was a little apart from the group and was indeed squealing about the bento box that Baekhyun had given him earlier, his fingers still playing with the newly-tied ribbons. He stopped, though, when he noticed they went silent. “What are you guys looking at?”

 

“You being an idiot.”

 

“I’m not the one who was being mushy in front of his boyfriend with six other people yesterday.”

 

“Chanyeol, come on, we are all mushy in front of ours.” Luhan came to Jongdae’s defense.

 

“But Kris doesn’t have a boyfriend-“

 

“Wait, he doesn’t?” Jongdae asked. “I knew he couldn’t get one with that stupid face of his-“

 

“I CAN GET A BOYFRIEND!” Kris shouted. “I CAN DATE JUNMYEON IF I WA-“

 

“Damn, no one said anything about Junmyeon.” Jongdae smirked at Kris. “Guess I was right after all.”

 

“Well, uh..” Kris sputtered out. “He-he’s the only one in our group that’s single, who else would I go out with-“

 

“Kris, you literally know a shit ton of people, what type of excuse is that?”

 

“You know what, I guess I am going to kill you in your sleep…”

 

***

 

Baekhyun was applying a fresh layer of lip gloss over his lips, staring at himself in the mirror as he smacked them together.

 

He was so excited! It’s been a long time since he’s been to Daegu, and to be able to come with Junmyeon (and other…acquaintances) and with a boyfriend makes it even better.

 

Wait, were him and Chanyeol at the boyfriend stage? Sure, Chanyeol took him on a date already and they’ve exchanged food, but it’s not like Chanyeol has done anything like kissing or hand holding. Does carrying him count?

 

He had to amount, the number of times Junmyeon had caught him making out with his hand over the past few days was higher than it should be.

 

Baekhyun shook his head while stuffing his gloss back into his back pocket. No time to worry about that now. Even though they were here on a “business trip”, he supposed, he still made a list of stuff that he wanted to do in the city. Gone were the days that he would be locked in his room, eyes typing away as he played games on his laptop all day, sometimes spilling his sprite in the process.

 

He still needed that ice cream though.

 

He got out of the men’s restroom and waited for the others. Him, Junmyeon, Minseok, and Yixing were all in the shop, laughing at each other at all the atrocious things they saw while eyeing on other cute trinkets. Baekhyun had drunk an insane amount of water on the plane, though, so he told everyone that he was going to the bathroom real quick to pee. This is why he wasn’t surprised when he was alone when he got out. The gift shop was in sight, though, so he started heading his way towards, skipping along the way due to all the excitement bubbling inside him.

 

All of it came crashing done when he ran into something and felt the cold surface of the tiled floor come in contact with his face.

 

“Owwwww.” He laid there for a while, hand cradling his cheek as he tried to sit up. It wasn’t that bad, though, only feeling a slight pain on his jaw.

 

“Oh, I’m sorry, you must be friends with Kris and Luhan!” The tall man told him, reaching out his hand for Baekhyun to grab.

 

The man appeared to be in his mid-twenties, with a staggering height but not as tall as Kris and Chanyeol. He had on jeans and a hoodie, a scarf around his neck and glasses on. Baekhyun accepted the guy’s hand and got back up.

 

“Thanks,” he mumbled. He was still embarrassed to have tripped. He had a fucking brace on; he has to be more careful. “Wait, are you the one picking us up?”

 

“Yeah, all your friends are outside waiting for you. They left the gift shop earlier.”

 

“They did?” Baekhyun frowned. “Huh. Okay.”

 

“Follow me,” the man said, gripping Baekhyun’s wrist as he weaved through the crowd, Baekhyun practically running in order to match with the man’s long strides. Yeah, he was pretty sure he was going to trip again.

 

When they finally reached the outside of the airport, the man pulled out his phone and pressed some numbers, arm still grasping his wrist. He must have made a call to someone because then he said into the phone, “I have him with me in front of the designated location. Hurry up.”

 

Baekhyun was starting to feel queasy. He started looking around for whoever they were waiting for. That’s when he noticed that nearby, he saw Chanyeol, Kris, Luhan and Jongdae, all standing with their bags still in hand. Chanyeol still had Baekhyun’s bento box.

 

That made him smile. “Guys!” He shouted, waving his free hand in the air. “Over her-“

 

“Shut the fuck up,” the man shushed him as soon as a white van pulled up. The others were staring at Baekhyun with wide eyes, and when he saw Chanyeol running towards him, that’s when Baekhyun knew something was wrong.

 

The doors of the white van opened and the man grabbed Baekhyun from his waist and practically threw him in, with other people in their reaching out to grab him. “Guys, they’re onto us.”

 

Baekhyun knew he wasn’t going to make it when he saw the dreaded white cloth pressed over his mouth.

 

 _Stupid chloroform_ was the last thing he thought when he fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> remember the tag "save my precious child baek"? this is why
> 
> THAT KRISHO SCENE MADE ME SQUEAL EVEN THOUGH I WROTE IT LOL


	9. Let's All Act Possessed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> have you guys ever seen VIXX Super Hero? Hongbin's long hair was the best.

“Chanyeol, calm dow-“

 

“JUST FUCKING LET ME GO!!” Chanyeol shrieked, withering in the grasps of Luhan and Kris, who were both having trouble holding him back.

 

“Christ, Chanyeol, they are humans here, you need to calm down-“

 

“JUST GET HIM THE FUCK WHY AREN’T YOU GUYS AFTER HIM-“

 

“-yeah the license plate said X67GHR, not a white van like yours, it’s the ones they use with no seats in the back-“ Jongdae was shouting into his phone. He had called Kyungsoo immediately when they say Baekhyun being carried off by his kidnappers. “No, they didn’t smell weird, they’re just humans, I don’t know why they would want him-“

 

“CHANYEOL!” Luhan shouted, since Chanyeol had managed to detach himself from Kris and Luhan and was now running on the road, cars all swerving around him in confusion, towards the direction to where the van with Baekhyun had left.

 

“Fucking bitch,” Kris muttered under his breath as he ran towards Chanyeol, who had already ran an incredible amount of distance.

 

“Okay, Kyungsoo said he found the van and he’s just following them and that he’ll text us the address, but we got to find another ride quick. Kyungsoo won’t be able to go after them himself,” Jongdae told Luhan, the only other person there. “TAXIIIIIIII-“

 

“Shit, look, it’s the others.” Luhan was talking about the Minseok, Yixing and Junmyeon who were coming out of the gift shop with scared looks.

 

Junmyeon spoke up first. “Do you guys know where Baekhyun is? He’s not answering his phone-“

 

“He was kidnapped by those men, right?” Minseok interrupted him. “This was a fucking bad idea-“

 

“Minseok, it’s okay-“

 

“NO IT’S NOT OKAY!” Minseok screamed at him. “HOW THE FUCK DID YOU GUYS NOT SENSE HIM MISSING?!”

 

“He was in your care, though!” Jongdae replied. “We had to wait for Kyungsoo because you know how lines in an airport are a bitch and you guys wanted to go to that fucking shop-“

 

“This is precisely why we shouldn’t have come here!” Their argument was interrupted with the sound of Jongdae’s  phone ringing. Jongdae looked away from Minseok’s murderous gaze as he replied.

 

“Yeah, you found it?” Pause. “Yeah, Chanyeol went running after it and Kris is after him, and people are going to start suspecting them-“ another pause. “Yeah, look-“

 

“Guys I got a taxi!” Luhan shouted, having already opened the doors. “Hurry up, we have no time to waste!”

 

The five of them were squished into the small white cab with Jongdae sliding into the passenger seat, momentarily getting off the phone with Kyungsoo for a second as he gave the address to the man driving.

 

The ride was quiet on the way there, with Luhan and Minseok sitting on opposite ends, with Junmyeon next to Minseok and Yixing next to Luhan.

 

“Xiumin, is Baekhyun.. is Baekhyun-“

 

“I don’t know.” His eyes didn’t tear away from the window. “I don’t know.” All he could do was sling his arm around the other, bodies pressed against each other in fear for the other’s safety.

 

***

 

Fuck.

 

Fuck his life. Fuck everyone _in_ his life. Fuck those trying to mess with it. Just fuck everything in general. Especially him. He must have been  a major fuck-up if he let the love of his life get taken away.

 

No matter what, he was going to majorly fuck up those who thought they could get away with Baekhyun.

 

Chanyeol didn’t have to think twice as he ran after the white van, running as fast he could before he rapidly jumped onto the end of the van and held on to the sides, knuckles turning white as he tried to maintain his balance. He didn’t even bother opening his eyes, knowing damn well that he was only going to be receiving stares.

 

He heard sirens pretty quickly though, but he assumed that the van managed to dodge them as the noise turned faint soon enough.

 

Chanyeol finally opened his eyes when he felt the van come to a slow stop. From what he could see, there were in an enormous, abandoned parking lot with warehouse spread all over the place. The whole area was surrounded by a forest so no neighbors in sight.

 

This was going to be a lot more difficult than he expected.

 

When the van came to a stop, Chanyeol got off from his position as quietly as he could, making sure that he didn’t land too hard on the cracked pavement. Hoping that they won’t see him, he managed to squeeze under the van without rocking it so that they don’t notice, despite his bulky shape.

 

The van opened the doors not long after that, and five pairs of feet came out, one of them containing a brace.

 

Chanyeol could only watch as the four men pushed Baekhyun around, barking him orders and watch him fall to his knees. Baekhyun appeared to be sobbing and he fell down on the concrete, eyes coming into contact with Chanyeol’s.

 

Desperate for him not to cause any sudden commotion to him, Chanyeol hastily raised up a finger to his own lips as if to say be quiet. Baekhyun just managed to nod until someone grab him by his neck and Chanyeol saw him get pulled up and eventually get dragged by the others towards the direction of one of the warehouses.

 

When they were a good feet away, Chanyeol tried to inhale his breath more to make room to reached into his pocket and pull out his phone to try to contact the others. Thinking Kris was probably the closest one, he sent him a voicemail stating where he was and to maintain hidden at all times. Hopefully Kris wouldn’t kill him as soon as he’s in site.

 

Finally, the four men with Baekhyun disappeared into the warehouse. Chanyeol pushed himself against the ground to get out of his spot underneath the van, face and body all covered with dirt and grease. He was about to head off to where they went until he saw another van pull into the parking lot.

 

Quickly, he ran towards the back of the white van, hoping that the newcomer hasn’t seen him, and tried to peer around the side. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw the person get out of it.

 

“Kyungsoo,” he whispered, desperate for the other to have heard him. “Kyungsoo. It’s me. Kyungsoo. Hey.”

 

Kyungsoo jumped from where he was standings, eyes having widen in fear as he started scanning everyone, trying to find out who was speaking. He relaxed when he saw Chanyeol come out of his hiding spot.

 

“Fuck, Chanyeol, you scared me,” Kyungsoo told him at last. He was still shaken up, thinking that one of the men had stayed behind and was about to ambush him at any minute. “How did you get here that fast? I thought you went in with them.”

 

“I can’t go in alone, so I sent Kris a voicemail. Wait, how did you find me?”

 

“Jongdae told me everything, and I managed to find the van while I was on the freeway. Not because of the license plate, but because there was a person hugging it from behind.”

 

“Oh, about that-“

 

“We can deal with the consequences later.  For now let’s-“

 

“GUYS!” They both turned around and were greeted with the site of Kris, who was running at them at full speed, panting and sweating all over. “Wait!”

 

Kris ran up to them and immediately fell on his knees, desperately trying to breathe considering how he just ran a few miles. It wasn’t another minute until he spoke.

 

“I…..” Gasp. “What are we….” Another gasp. “Do you-“

 

“We’ve been out here way too long, we should probably get in now,” Kyungsoo replied. “Unless you-“

 

“No waiting for the others, they could be torturing Baekhyun right at this minute.” With that, he started running towards the warehouse where Baekhyun was being captive. Kyungsoo shrugged at Kris before running after him.

 

“Okay, Kris. Prevent Baekhyun from getting killed, and then kill Chanyeol. Nothing you can’t handle.”

 

***

The warehouse was just like they expected.

 

There inside was just as bare as the parking lot, with some boxes here and there. There was mold growing on the old, rickety wooden walls, and the air was so hot and stuffy it was a miracle that any of them could breathe in it. However, their most important target was right in the middle of the room were crates piled in a square shape, almost forming like a room of sorts in the center. Kris, being the tallest, had climb up a pile of crates in order to peer inside without the kidnappers noticing.

 

There was a spot of piled crates missing as if to create a doorway. All of the four men that Chanyeol had spotted earlier were present, all appearing to participate in some of discussion while Baekhyun was tied onto a chair perched right across the small table.

 

“Look, those bastards are going to want to find them, so we got to text them a location where they can give us a ransom.”

 

“Yeah, and when we get the money, we kill this dude anyways! Then those fuckers will be killed with a sniper hidden somewhere.”

 

“Where should we sent them, though? Did you tell boss about this plan anyways?”

 

“No, but when I was at the airport, I saw this kid hanging out with Kris and his group of fuckups. This kid and some other one looked new and scared shitless, and considering how he didn’t fight back, I was right about him being human.”

 

Kris could already feel his blood boiling in anger, furious at how those fuckheads thought they could get away with everything and even think about messing with them. Without thinking, he climbed up the rest of the crates, ignoring Kyungsoo’s and Chanyeol’s pleas of stopping, and jumped onto the table, frightening the men arguing.

 

“What the fuck-“

 

“Are you-“

 

“Shit what the hell-“

 

“Is that-“

 

Not giving a chance to speak, Kris pounced on the closest person next to him, the one who found Baekhyun at the airport, and reached for his neck, snapping the guy’s neck in seconds.

 

The other guys didn’t waste any more time hesitating. Two of them ran towards Kris, trying to land a few punches while the other guy took out a gun and tried to shoot. He wasn’t able to, though, because Chanyeol was behind him in a flash and snapped the guy’s wrist.

 

Their killing spree was over as soon as it started.

 

When Chanyeol and Kris were trying to come down from their adrenaline,  Chanyeol went to where Baekhyun was seated and carefully took off the ropes that had him tied to the chair. Seeing the welts on his mate’s wrists only made him angrier. Honestly, how could they think of harming him?!

 

“Chan-Chanyeol I, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun started sobbing again, quiet tears soon turning to a full out outburst as he wrapped his arms around Chanyeol’s waist, crying into his neck as Chanyeol started to pat his back. “Chanyeol-I was, Chanyeol-“

 

“I’m sorry Baekhyun.”

 

***

 

The others arrived to the warehouse soon after. The warehouse may have been huge for the small amount of people, but it filled up with noise pretty quick.

 

Baekhyun spent most of his time in Chanyeol’s arms, occasionally going to someone else and hugging them as well, like Junmyeon. His friend had been in tears when they reunited, both of them releasing uncontrollable sobs. Minseok had also been crying as well, saying how he was so worried for the other’s safety, which only made Baekhyun sob harder.

 

The others tried to discuss what the hell just happen.

 

“Baekhyun, why did you run off with that guy?” Kris tried to ask him. By then, Baekhyun had stopped crying, head resting on Chanyeol’s chest. “We didn’t separate you guys to get lost on purpose.”

 

“Well, you see, I ran into him and he said he was friends with you and Luhan,” Baekhyun explained. “He said he was picking us up, so I just assumed he was Kyungsoo.”

 

Luhan couldn’t help but snort at that comment. “You thought a _tall_ dude was Kyungsoo? Man, that’s the funniest shit I’ve heard all day.”

 

“Oh, shut up, Luhan, now is not the time for your height discrimination comments.” Kyungsoo rolled his eyes at Luhan’s comment. “You guys haven’t even told me hello yet and yet you think it’s time to bring my height into question.”

 

“Oh, yeah, I didn’t introduce you guys,” Minseok said. “Guys, this is Kyungsoo. He’s a witch, but not that powerful, so he can’t kill us if he wanted too.”

 

“Actually-“

 

“Please don’t prove me wrong. Anyways, Kyungsoo, this guy,” Minseok waved towards Baekhyun, still clutching onto Chanyeol, “is Baekhyun, Chanyeol’s mate. And this dude,” he turned to point to Junmyeon, who was seated between him and Kris, “is his friend, Junmyeon, the person I’ve been keeping an eye on all these years.”

 

“Oh, it’s nice to meet you guys,” Kyungsoo said. “Jongdae told me about you guys a few days ago, but it’s nice to finally see you in person.”

 

“Yeah, us too,” Junmyeon told him. “A week ago, Baekhyun and I only knew, like, how many people Baek?”

 

“Just Minseok if I’m not counting our parents. I think. I don’t remember, I’m always in my room.”

 

Jongdae spoke up. “We should probably be heading soon. Not to mention these bodies we have to dispose of.”

 

“Hey, Chen, before we do that.” Minseok walked over to the guy who’s neck was snapped by Kris and bent down to kneel beside it. He looked over the body for a few seconds, tilting his head a bit before he finally pulled the scarf away.

 

“Is that-“

 

“Yeah. Guess finding Song’s group wasn’t so hard after all.”

 

***

 

He was walking back towards the warehouse when he saw Junmyeon waiting for him.

 

Kris had just buried the bodies in the forest around the parking lot, making sure he could remove any piece of evidence that Chanyeol and him had killed them. He didn’t expect to see Junmyeon outside, though.

 

He finally reached the outside of the warehouse to where Junmyeon was standing. “Hey.”

 

“Oh, hey, Kris.” Junmyeon looked down at the ground immediately and started playing with his fingers, trying not to feel Kris’s gaze boring holes into his skull.

 

Kris tried to break the silence. “You’re probably disgusted at me for killing them. I know. It’s not-“

 

“What?” Junmyeon tilted up his head so that he could look at Kris again. “No, that’s not what-no, not at all.”

 

“Wait.” Kris was not expecting that. “You’re… you’re not…”

 

“I, uh,” Junmyeon looked back down and resumed whatever he was doing with his fingers. His face was turning a nice shade a pink that, under normal circumstances, would amuse Kris. However, he was still confused on the other’s comment. “I mean, I don’t know how I feel about killing people, I guess morally, I mean I don’t know, but that’s not what I wanted to say to you. I just, uh, well-“

 

“Junmyeon-“

 

“I just wanted to thank you for saving Baekhyun,” Junmyeon stuttered out. “I mean, you didn’t have to do it, heck, none of you guys have to worry about our safety, but yet you still killed those men, risking your life just to protect my friend, so…. Ye-yeah thank you, Kris.”

 

Kris stood there like an idiot (aka Chanyeol in his opinion), unable to form any words. Junmyeon was… _thanking_ him? For killing a bunch of humans? For dragging the two of them to an unknown place?

 

He wasn’t calling him a monster? A bloodsucker? Whatever other derogatory terms humans and other supernatural creatures called? Especially for being a noble?

 

“I..” Kris could just feel his face turn the same shade as Junmyeon’s. “I…. I don’t know what to say, I-“

 

“I mean, I know you guys frown upon us,” Junmyeon continued. “How you guys have a negative views of humans. And I don’t blamed you for that, they must do a lot of shitty stuff, I guess, I mean, I-“

 

“What, no Junmyeon, who.. who the fuck said I hated humans?” Kris questioned him. “How…. How can I hate you…” he whispered the last part.

 

“What was that?” Junmyeon asked him.

 

“Um, nothing, let’s just go inside.”

 

***

 

“I have a confession,” Baekhyun told Chanyeol, who still had him seated on his laps, arms wrapped protectively around Baekhyun’s waist. “I’m sorry for treating you like shit these past few days.”

 

“What-what do you mean?”

 

“Well, I…” Baekhyun had no idea how he was going to explain this without angering Chanyeol. “You see… I was kind of pissed off in the beginning, you know, for not being able to pick the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. So I was rude to you. And I’m sorry for that.”

 

“Baekhyun, how… I don’t get it,” Chanyeol merely replied. “You’ve never treated me bad. I don’t understand what you’re getting at.”

 

“Chanyeol, I… I liked you, but at the same time I didn’t. Like, I tried to distance myself from you, but then, when I see you… I can’t. And I’m sorry. You know…” Baekhyun turned around to hide his face on Chanyeol’s chest. “When I was in the van thinking I was going to die, I started thinking of all the things that I regret. And you know what was one of my biggest regrets? Not making you happy.”

 

“Baekhyun.” Chanyeol pulled Baekhyun’s face away from him to look at his eyes. “I am happy. Honestly. I’ve been looking forward to everyday with you. I-“

 

“We haven’t even known each other for a week-“

 

“Exactly! It hasn’t been a week and yet I can only think of you! I don’t know what you’ve done to me, Baekhyun, but I…” Chanyeol bit his lip, not knowing if he was going to regret the next thing he did, which was to lean into and meet Baekhyun’s lips with his.

 

Those plump limps that he’s been eyeing for a long time.

 

They were really soft, Chanyeol had to admit. Was it possible for lips to be this soft? And tasty, too. If Baekhyun’s lip were a flavor, it would be the best in the world. And was he wearing gloss?

 

Looks like he wasn’t going to regret it, after all, because it took Baekhyun no time at all to kiss him back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listening to BTS Come Back Home as I type this. 
> 
> YASSS WE SAW A KISS AND KRISHO PROGRESSING KRISHOOOOOOOOOOOJHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPE
> 
> Sorry lol. 
> 
> Anyways.. we met Kyungsoo! Cool, no one dies, I keep true to my word. Haven't edited so sorry for any mistakes.


	10. Grab Some Ice and Chill

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> havent edited yet and you guys know why

****

After the whole kidnapping fiasco that lasted from the airport all the way to the warehouse, the nine of them have finally been able to pile up in Kyungsoo’s van and head to the Daegu stronghold. The ride back had been filled with mindless chatter, obviously no one wanting to break the tension in the air. Baekhyun, as expected, had been silent the entire time, having fallen asleep on Chanyeol’s lap. Junmyeon was sleeping next to Minseok, who was at the other side of Luhan and appeared to be giving him the silent treatment. Kris was in the front with Kyungsoo and was speaking about who they must have been dealing with. Jongdae also had a sleepy Yixing in his arms, mindlessly playing with his boyfriend’s hair as he played on his phone.

 

Damn. Things usually weren’t this awkward.

 

When Junmyeon woke up, he saw that they finally arrived to the big, hidden building. When it came into sight, Junmyeon had been _stunned._ Calling the place big was an understatement. Junmyeon was pretty sure that he has seen hospitals smaller than this place.

 

The whole place was _crawling_ with trees. Like, crawling. There was almost every type of tree present – apple, orange, willow, gingko. If Junmyeon found a coconut tree he wouldn’t be surprised. Wait, was that an _avocado_ tree? Avocados grow on trees? Why do they need any trees anyway? Oak was just fine.

 

Trying to distract himself from the trees, Junmyeon tried to turn his attention to the house. It looked modern enough; there were windows with their blinds covered, a huge set of French doors for the entrance. Two men were standing there, and if you would have ask Junmyeon last week, he would have guessed that they were around his age. But considering how there was a centuries-year-old vampire in the van with them, he couldn’t make assumptions.

 

And Baekhyun looked like a five year old, so there was that, too.

 

There were a gazebo in the clearing behind the building with a group of around 5 young teens, all laughing and talking together. When they saw the van pull up in the entrance, though, they came rushing over, they’re little faces trying to peer into the windows of the van. The van slowly came to a stop, and they all rushed to get out; Jongdae was trying to wake up Yixing, Chanyeol carried Baekhyun bridal-style and jumped out the car, Junmyeon getting out after him. Minseok was the only one who didn’t appear to be in a hurry, him staying behind as he tried to grab all their stuff with Luhan trying to help him.

 

The little teens started to greet and hug everyone, appearing to be familiar with everyone (except Junmyeon and Baekhyun, of course.) They kept asking questions on what took them so long, who were the new faces, why was Chanyeol hugging that short dude. Yixing tried to answer all their questions while Junmyeon stared dumbfounded at their surroundings.

 

“Hey, who’s that one dude staring around,” one of them ask, tugging Yixing’s sleeve. Hearing the sound of his name, Junmyeon turned around.

 

“That’s Junmyeon, he’s a friend of Minseok,” Yixing replied. “Junmyeon, this is Jisung.”  


“Oh, hello-“  


“It’s so nice to meet you!” The red-haired answered, reaching over to give Junmyeon a hug. “My name is Jisung!”

 

Junmyeon couldn’t help but give the kid a little hug. He was too cute.

 

Soon, the other teens came over and hug him as well, all introducing themselves. Jisung, Chenle, Renjun, Donghyuck, and Jungwoo. Junmyeon would try to remember them in his memory.

 

Yixing soon pulled them away, claiming that it was time for their defense class and he wanted to see what they have been working on since he’s been gone. The group went inside, Chanyeol following with Baekhyun in his arms.

 

The two males that were in the entrance came forward, one of them reaching over to give Kyungsoo a kiss on the cheek with the other linking arms with Minseok.

 

“Minseok, I missed you so much!” The male said. “You guys finally came!”

 

“Relax, Jonghyun, everyone’s been acting like I’m going to die soon.” Minseok couldn’t help but smile. “Junmyeon, this is Jonghyun, he’s a friend of mine.”  


“Hello!” Jonghyun came over and hugged Junmyeon. He was pretty sure he heard some bones cracking. “It’s so nice to see you! Minseok called me the other day and told me about you! It’s so nice to get acquainted!”  


“Jonghyun, put the kid down, your lifting him from the ground,” Kris spoke up. “Sorry, he gets excited about everything.”

 

After shooting Kris a dirty look, Jonghyun did indeed put Junmyeon back on the ground. Now Junmyeon could breathe again. “Sorry, I get carried away sometimes.”

 

“It’s fine,” Junmyeon waved him off. “Don’t worry about it.”  


“How long how you guys staying again?” Jonghyun turned his attention back to Minseok. “You didn’t give me a clear answer.”  


“Because I don’t have a clear response,” Minseok replied. “We aren’t quite sure what we’re dealing with.”  


“Yeah, Song’s group is often so misleading,” the other male replied. “I’m just glad nothing serious happened to you guys. Was Chanyeol really behind the van, though?”  


“Jongin, of all the things you care about, _that’s what_ you decide to ask me?” Kyungsoo smacked himself in the head. “Why am I not surprised.”

 

“You should have taken a picture, though, that must have looked funny!”

 

“Why would I text and drive, though?”

 

“Damn, everyone likes to argue about stupid stuff,” Kris said. “Jongin, what’s the thing that happened yesterday? With-“

 

“Donghyuck? This vampire tried to attack him when he went outside. I brought groceries and he was helping me unload them. Poor kid was being thrown across the yard when I came back outside. The vampire ran away before I could see his face, though. I have no idea how he went past the wards.”  


“That’s awful,” Luhan replied. “Kyungsoo, don’t you think you can put up a few spells?”

 

“My powers only go for small locations,” Kyungsoo answered. “But I’ve heard that there’s a new witch back in Busan who might be able to help us.”  


“We should probably go next week,” Minseok offered. “Song has been recruiting more humans, and you know only humans and angels can go through wards that aren’t granted access to them. We need to know where they are grouping first before you leave anyone here.”

 

“Yeah, five minutes in Daegu and we already lost a member,” Kris joked. “Chanyeol is still getting an earful from me later.”

 

“We should probably check the news and see that they don’t suspect us.” Kyungsoo released himself from Jongin’s grasp, who has been back hugging him for the past few minutes. “We should probably go inside, I’m starving.”

 

“Sehun made pancakes for you guys, but now they’re cold,” Jongin said. “Maybe I should some sandwiches since it’s around lunch time now.”  


“Yeah… that was unplanned.” With that, Minseok went inside with their luggage in his hands, Junmyeon following close behind him. He could only hope there would be no more problems in their stay.

 

***

 

“Hey, you’re awake,” Chanyeol said to a half-sleepy Baekhyun, the latter having just risen from his bed while still maintaining his eyes shut.

 

Chanyeol had been so giddy lately. After their first kiss earlier in the warehouse, Baekhyun couldn’t stop blushing as he stayed in Chanyeol’s arm, the latter telling him all the same stories he had told him earlier when the other was asleep after that one time. Baekhyun had fallen sleep shortly before they finally went to the stronghold, so Chanyeol had just carried him the entire time trying not to wake him up. After everything he’s been through, Baekhyun deserved a break after all.

 

Right now, Baekhyun was on Chanyeol’s bed, blankets still tucked around him while he stood up. Chanyeol was standing at the doorway with a tray in his hands, two plates with club sandwiches and two glasses of apple juice perched on top. Baekhyun must be starving by now.

 

He didn’t come in the room until he saw Baekhyun give a half nod, so he proceeded to place the tray on the nightstand next to the bed. He handed Baekhyun one of the plates.

 

“I thought you would want to eat something,” Chanyeol explained, “since you ate nothing on the plane, claiming you could wait until we arrived here. I hope you don’t mind.”  


Baekhyun was fully awake by now. “Oh, uh… thanks.” He hesitated before grabbing one of the triangle slices, still holding it unsurely in his hands. “You…. Do you…. Nevermind.” He took a small bite of the sandwich so he didn’t have to explain.

 

“Do I what?” Chanyeol asked, tilting his head in confusion. “What’s wrong?”

 

“Well,” Baekhyun started. “I was going to ask where we were, but I thought that would make me sound like an idiot so no.”  


“Oh, yeah. I forgot you weren’t awake.” Chanyeol sat down on the edge of the bed, grabbing the other plate for himself. “We arrived in the stronghold a while ago. Don’t worry, you’re in my room. The others are downstairs for you if you want to go see them, but the place is big so I recommend not to do it yourself.”  


“Oh, uh…okay.” Baekhyun took another bite of his sandwich, slowly satisfying his rumbling stomach. “You know you don’t have to carry me everywhere, right?”

 

“Wha-what do you mean?” Chanyeol asked.

 

Baekhyun sighed and took off the blanket from his leg. “I have a brace, you know, I’m not handicapped. You don’t have to force yourself all the time.”

 

“But-but it’s fine,” Chanyeol tried to defend himself. “Besides, I like carrying you. I don’t see the problem here.”

 

“I-uh,” Baekhyun’s face turned to the color of the tomatoes in his sandwich. “St-stop it, that’s not funny.”

 

“But it’s true!” Chanyeol shouted. “You’re so small, I like having you in my arms.”  


“You just make me feel weak,” Baekhyun stuttered out. “Stop embarrassing me.” Sandwich abandoned, he dropped it onto his plate so that he could cover his face with his hands. “Stop it.”

 

“But you’re so cute, though-“

 

“Stopppp!” Baekhyun let out a squeal when he felt a pair of hands wrap around his waist. He took his hands off his face when he saw Chanyeol just hugging him, running his fingers through the other’s hair.

 

“I’m just glad you’re okay,” Chanyeol whispered, his voice becoming shaky. Baekhyun was sure he felt sometime wet dripping on his shoulders. “I’m tired of seeing you always get hurt.”

 

Baekhyun slowly wrapped his own arms around the other’s waist as well, pulling him in closer. “Just make sure you stay safe yourself,” Baekhyun whispered back.

 

***

 

“-so Kris would have been hurt badly for falling off the roof if it weren’t for the hunter that fell on,” Jonghyun was telling Junmyeon. “It’s amazing how many times he has fallen off of something and yet still be alive.”  


“Do you guys secretly have an agenda to make me look bad,” Kris asked him. “Can’t you talk about something else? Like that time when you accidently ate-“  


“Sometimes you just got to let the past go,” Jonghyun tried to reason with him. Kris merely rolled his eyes at him.

 

The three of them were sitting in the living room, alongside another male that introduced himself as Sehun, eating the sandwiches that Kyungsoo made earlier. Junmyeon hadn’t seen Yixing, Jongdae, Chanyeol, Baekhyun, or any of the young teens since they went inside earlier before them. He hasn’t seen Minseok either, who only left all their bags in the living room before running upstairs to be somewhere, Luhan tagging along behind him. Kyungsoo and Jongin were with them for a while, but eventually they also said they were going upstairs in order to do something. So it just left the four of them alone.

 

Junmyeon tried to pick a piece of bacon that had fallen off his sandwich onto his plate. “I don’t understand how you guys can handle getting injured all the time.”

 

“Well, Yixing is really good at healing us,” Jonghyun answered, “but Kyungsoo ends up doing that too. We all just learned basic medic care along the way. It’s pretty useful, to be honest.”

 

Junmyeon nodded, thinking about the time when him and Baekhyun were almost murdered in the woods and how he woke up already being treated. “That is pretty cool, I guess.”  


“Hey, we should all do something tomorrow,” Jonghyun suggested. “You know, just have a chill day here. It’s your first time in Daegu, after all, you should enjoy it.”

 

“They’re not here for games, Jonghyun. They only came here so they can keep an eye on them, do you not remember what just happened earlier?” Sehun asked him.

 

“Don’t you and Sehun have to meet that Yoongi dude tomorrow anyways?” Kris asked. “You’re not even free.”  


“Fine. Then why don’t _you_ do something with Junmyeon tomorrow? His friend is with Chanyeol, anyways, and I think Minseok has his own worries with Luhan. You’re not doing anything tomorrow, either.”

 

“I have to meet Siwon,” Kris argued. “I don’t have time.”

 

“Psh, you meet him at night,” Jonghyun waved him off. “Take Junmyeon shopping or something, make him try the kimchi here. Do I really have to give _you_ ideas? With your experience?”

 

“Experience?” Kris squinted at him. “What the he-“  
  
“You’ve been around longer, you should know how to deal with social situations, and yet you’re still shy.”  


“Jonghyun, worry about your own love life,” Sehun pointed out. “Are you going to finish your sandwich or not?”  
  
“Sehun you ruin everything. We’re going to meet that witch next week, you better not ruin that, too.”

 

“Just remember to state you intentions to the witch in the beginning,” Sehun said. “Or it’ll cost you,” he whispered the last part to himself.

 

“Then it’s a deal! Hey Junmyeon, do you want to play my Xbox? Let’s see if we can ask Wonho to join us.”

 

“Uh, yeah,” Junmyeon answered, having no idea what the hell just happened. “Sure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUESS WHO"S BACKKKKKKKKKKKK
> 
> OMG SO MUCH STUFF HAPPEN OMG but anyways yahhhhh more chapters tomorrow! now that i'm free I can write again!! I have plans for an nct story and I already wrote chapter one so... should i publish it now? plus, i'm working on a big project that will come out next school year so be ready!! i miss this story honestly i would dream about how it was going to play out


	11. Ride with It

“I just don’t understand why you’re angry with me!” Luhan was shouting back at Minseok, who was currently rummaging all of his drawers in the room trying to find, well, whatever it was he was looking for. Luhan didn’t know. Like how he doesn’t know anything else.

 

Minseok sighs, grabbing a few papers out of the nightstand by the bed and threw those papers on the bed, running his hands through his hair before he crossed them over his chest. “Don’t you fucking dare give me the ‘I didn’t do anything’ speech, Luhan. Don’t you fucking dare.”  


“But that’s the whole problem!” Luhan screamed back. “You always like to blame me for anything when I have no clue what the fuck is going on!”  


“Oh, so you didn’t know how Baekhyun got kidnapped earlier?” Minseok replied. “You don’t know why he and Junmyeon are here in the first place? You didn’t know that I didn’t want to come here in the first place? _Nothing?”_

“What do I have to do with the kidnapping anyways! You think I called someone and said ‘Hey, dude! There’s this human here with me, so why don’t you and your gang come over and take him away for some time before my friends and I snap your heads?’ You think I did that?”

 

“You know I didn’t want to come.” Minseok lowered his voice, arms still crossed. “You knew that perfectly clear. I precisely said they couldn’t defend themselves _and look at what happen._ ”

 

“it’s not my fault the kid is a dumbass and just trusted random strangers!”  


“Don’t fucking call him that.” Minseok walked over to the bed and grabbed those same damn papers again and stuffed it into his bag, to which he slung it over his shoulder.

 

“Wait, where are you going?” Minseok ignored him and walked to the door, opened it and stepped out of the room. “Hold on, Minseok, I’m not done talking with you yet!”

 

“And when will you be done? When you win the argument like you always do?” Minseok stopped and turned away to face Luhan who had followed him out. “What do you want to talk about?”  


“I just don’t get why you want to blame me. I didn’t do anything!”  


“You never do,” Minseok muttered under his breath. Luhan heard it anyways.

 

“Minseo-“

 

“You just had to drag me here,” Minseok continued, “for what? Why couldn’t you have just left me alone? It’s not because you can’t stand being apart from me, it’s for something else, isn’t it-“  
  
“I don’t want to see you get hurt,” Luhan interrupted. “You think I can handle the thought of you staying somewhere and something happening knowing I could have done something-“  


“So what? I can’t protect myself? What do I need protection for, anyways?! I’m literally stronger than anyone in this household, I don’t need protection from everyone!”

 

Luhan’s face was turning red. He started clutching and unclutching his hands trying to calm himself down. “It’s not because of that, I just want you to be here so that I know you’re safe.”  


“I’m not a fucking object that’s supposed to remain in your sight in order not to be stolen! I can’t do anything anymore! You question me every time I want to do something-“  
  
“Couples aren’t supposed to keep secrets from each other, Minseok! I barely know anything about you, I didn’t even know those two kids were under your watch! How is it that they know you better than me?!”

 

“It’s not like you tell me anything, anyways! You always talk with the others and leave me out! I’m not a crystal than can be broken! Just tell me what you’re afraid of anyways! Why do you always want me in sight, Luhan, why?!”  


“BECAUSE I’M AFRAID OF YOU TURNING INTO A DEMON AND KILLING EVERYONE!” Luhan shouted, throwing his hands up in the air. The redness on his face quickly went away and was replaced by a ghostly white when he realized what he said.

 

Minseok finally broke eye contact, turning to gaze at the floor in front of him instead. “So you’re not protecting me, then,” he spoke softly. “You protecting everyone _from_ me.”  


Luhan reached towards Minseok, trying to take the other into his embrace. “Mins-“  
  
“If you so badly want to know, I need to see Felix later. He mentioned that he found something and he…” Minseok stopped. “I guess I shouldn’t get my hopes up, anyways. It’s been 20 years.”  


“Minseok, I-“

 

“I’ll see you later,” Minseok finished, already walking away to go to the nearest staircase.

 

***

 

“Are you ready?” Kris asked Junmyeon, who had just came down the stairs into the foyer.

 

Junmyeon nodded. “I just went to say bye to Baekhyun. He was complaining about his foot again.”  


“Yeah, from what I’ve seen, that pretty much sums him up,” Kris said.

 

Yeah, that and the fact that Baekhyun was about to start mentioning all the types of contraceptives available before Chanyeol thankfully walked in the room with a cherry smoothie for him, making Baekhyun drop the conversation. But didn’t wolves have super hearing anyways? Was this Baekhyun’s way of getting back at him for that time they were in the hallway?

 

From that sneaky grin Baekhyun had on his face, he was pretty sure that was the case.

 

Anyways.

 

“I can’t believe I have to walk around Daegu all day. I didn’t sign up for this.” Kris opened the door and waved his hands forward, making Junmyeon walk first out of the building before he followed suit. “This is so childish.”  


“Yeah, I get it if you don’t want to be stuck with me all day,” Junmyeon replied. “It’s fine, we can stay insid-“  


“What?” Kris grabbed forward to spin Junmyeon around to face him. “Is that what you think? You think I just hate everyone?”  


Junmyeon stared at the ground. “Well-“  


Kris sighed. “I just… um, how to I explain this… I just don’t like being outside. And NO it’s not because of the fucking sun.”  


Frowning, Junmyeon lifted his head up to look at Kris again. “Outside? What’s wrong with being outside?”  
  
“Don’t judge me, Mr. I’m going to live away from civilization,” Kris defended himself. “I just hate being in public. I feel like everyone is staring at me.”  


“Like paranoia?” Junmyeon asked. “I get that too.  I don’t like people looking at me.”

 

“It’s hard not to,” Kris said softly.  


“What was that?”

 

“I said that yeah, it’s hard for me,” Kris stammered quickly. “Anyway, have you eaten yet? I thought I could take you to breakfast, first.”  


“Oh, I’m okay.” Junmyeon waved his hands in front of him. “Just go where you want, I’m okay with anything-“  
  
“Oh, hell no,” Kris replied, already grabbing Junmyeon’s arm as he dragged him with him looking for the garage. “The fuck, we are doing this because you’ve never been here before, so we are doing what you want. Not being selfless for once isn’t going to make you any less of a person, Junmyeon.”

 

Junmyeon made no attempt to get out of Kris’ grasp. “But I don’t like asking for stuff.”

 

“Well, too bad, today we are listening to you and only you.” Kris went to one of the sides of  the building (it wasn’t exactly built like a rectangle shape) and started pushing at some buttons which were practically hidden from plain sight. The door raised up slowly, Kris still holding onto to Junmyeon’s arm.

 

The garage wasn’t that big compared to the rest of the building. There only appeared to be around 10 cars and vans, including the one Kyungsoo used the day before. There were also around 4 motorcycles, but what surprised Junmyeon the most was an area _filled_ with…..

 

Bicycles.  

 

There were around 30 bicycles.

 

Why.   


They all ranged from color and type. Mountain, cruiser, racer. Black, blue, red, green. Some were big while others were a bit smaller, but all for around young teens and teenagers. They weren’t even standing up; some of them have fallen over each other, like when you arrive at a friend’s house and just toss your bike on the ground.

 

Junmyeon still stared at all those bicycles as Kris took him near a black sports car. Kris finally let go of his hand to fumble around his jacket for his keys. He pressed the button, signaling that the doors were now unlocked, when he realized that Junmyeon was staring.

 

Puzzled, he tilted his head before leaning over to see Junmyeon’s face. “What are you doing?”  


“Why do you have so many bicycles,” Junmyeon asked him, pointing to the area in front of them. “Who uses all of them?”  


Kris gave him a look. “Are you really concerned about the bikes?”  


“Even Walmart doesn’t have that many!” Junmyeon exclaimed. “Why do you guys have so many bikes? Do, like, all thirty of you prefer to ride to the park together or something since you don’t fit in the van?”  


“We have a lot of teens staying here,” Kris explained. “There’s around 27 of them. You know those kids you saw earlier? Some of these bikes are theirs.”  


“Why are they all here, though?” Junmyeon asked. “Aren’t they too young? Or does this serve like a boarding school in its spare time or something?”  


“More like an orphanage.” Kris went to the driver’s side and opened the door to get in, still seeing that Junmyeon hasn’t made an effort to move. “Aren’t you going to get in?”

 

Junmyeon turned around, his face now looking extremely pale. “What do you….” He whispered.

 

Kris sighed and reached over to open Junmyeon’s door from the inside. “Junmyeon it’s fine, just get in and I’ll tell you.”  


Hesitating, Junmyeon slipped into the passenger seat and closed the door, Kris continuing to speak as he buckled in his seatbelt. “They don’t have a place to stay.”  


“I-“

 

“You know how humans are.” Kris kept going. “Hell, don’t matter if you’re human or not, _everyone_ judges others for one thing or another. And you know how no one responds well to change.”

 

“Ar-are you saying these people _kicked_ their children out?!” Junmyeon yelled.

 

“Not all of them. Most of them were turned.” Kris started the engine and looked at the rear mirror behind him before the car finally started to move. “Some ran away without telling their parents, some did but not everything, and I think only Sicheng actually told his parents what happened. Most were kicked out. I think Kun’s mom tried to kill him with an actually stake, I don’t know-“

 

“You-you’re saying that _these_ people,” Junmyeon choked out. “Don’t know what the _fuck_ is going on to their child? Or that they actually _disowned_ them?!”

 

“It’s not unusual,” Kris said. “I mean, I wasn’t turned but I know a bunch of people who were. Most of them never heard from their parents again-“  
  
“That doesn’t make it _right_ though,” Junmyeon argued back. “These, these _children_ are probably going through a tough time, and for _what?_ For them to now be alone? Not have anyone for support? What do these people think they’re accomplishing by throwing away their kids like that?”  


“Some are purebloods,” Kris said. “Not all were turned. “I’ve known Chan and his parents for quite a while now, and Jeno and Hyunjin came here because they wanted to be with the others.”  


“Yeah, but,” Junmyeon trailed off, deciding instead to just place his palms under his chin and stare out the window. “It doesn’t make it right.”  


“I know,” Kris said.  “I know. For most of them, it’s going to be tough, but that’s why we have them here in Daegu. They’re going to be safe here. That’s why I’m going to send Jonghyun and Sehun to try to negotiate with that witch later to put up better wards. We can’t just keep getting hurt.”

 

“I guess you’re right.” Junmyeon laid back onto his, arms wrapped around his waist. “It’s not worth it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> plays super junior sorry sorry :(  
> KRISHOOOOOOOO and baek omg my child  
> SPEAKING OF MY CHILDREN GUESS THE TWO BANDS THAT MAKE THE 27 yall should know  
> new story out now!


	12. It's in the House

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haven't edited it so tell me if you see any grammar mistakes
> 
> *!*! edit: NONE OF YOU GUYS TOLD ME THAT CHANYEOL WAS ALREADY OM THE ROOM SO HOW COULD HE ENTER dont worry i changed that part

“-and that’s why we have so many trees here at this place,” Chanyeol told Baekhyun, the two of them snuggled up on the bed. “It’s nice to just be able to have fruit in your own place.”

 

“Wow. I’m eating organic cherries,” Baekhyun said before taking the last sip of his smoothie. “I don’t really eat healthy even though I’m supposed to.”

 

“I mean, when I found you for the first time, you guys just recently bought, like, ice cream and an assortment of junk food-“

 

“Okay, to be clear,” Baekhyun sat up from his spot on the bed, reaching over to place the now-empty glass on the nightstand. “I never did got my ice cream. I’ve been waiting a lot time for my ice cream and I still don’t have it.”

 

“Oh, I can go right now and get some.” Chanyeol jumped off the bed and was already starting to put on his left sneaker on. “Which flavor do you prefer-“

“Wait, wait, wait, slow down, you’re acting like I’m a pregnant woman with cravings or something.” Baekhyun rolled his eyes at Chanyeol’s eagerness. “Besides, I don’t feel like leaving this place for a while. Too soon.” Too soon to run into danger again.

 

“Well, I can show you around the building if you want,” Chanyeol suggested. “There’s so many hideouts and secret places in this old place. I have a room just for stashing chocolate.”

 

“That sounds like a fun idea, let’s do that.” Baekhyun threw the duvet off of him and swung his feet over to the side of the bed to get off, only to crumple back down and scream when he tried to stand.

 

“Baekhyun!” Chanyeol screamed, running over to where Baekhyun was and lifted him up in the air, Baekhyun not uttering a word since he was still in pain. “Come on, I’ll take you to the medical wing, okay? Hang in there!”

 

***

 

“I asked my mom to look on your condition.” Felix pulled out a file from his little desk in the room that he shared with Woojin, Minho, and Jeongin. They were downstairs eating as much pancakes as they could before they biked to the park later with the others. “I remember her telling me about dealing with someone with it when I was younger. She was able to cure the person-“

 

“Cure them?” Minseok asked him. “Define cure.”

 

“Being able to remove the blood without removing the person living with it.” Felix sat back down on his chair with Minseok on his bed. “Damn, if only angels came back down on Earth. This would be so much easier.”

 

“They’ll just stare at us all repulsive,” Minseok replied. “The actual nice angels are the ones who never survive.”

 

“You don’t know that. Anyways,” Felix handed the file to Minseok. “If you could just see the person who gave you the blood-“

 

“Can’t. I twisted his neck-“

 

“At least his corpse-“

 

“And then I burned him to a crisp.”

 

Felix took the file back from Minseok. “Nevermind then.”

 

Minseok sighed. “Actually got my hopes up for a second,” he replied before standing up to stretch his legs. “You should probably join the others now if you want to make it to the outing. Sadly, I don’t think there’s any food for you.”

 

“I’ll steal Wonho’s ramen, it’s not big of a deal. Kihyun and him love me.” Felix smiled at himself, cheeks all puffed up.

 

“Yeah, and he’s resorted to stealing Jonghyun’s who is going to throw a fit nowadays,” Minseok walked over to the door way to head out. “Thanks, anyway. I know this isn’t a very easy subject to deal with.”

 

“I know, but for your info, you might… how do I say this, some of us heard about…. Your discussion this morning.”

 

Minseok’s face fell. He had forgotten about his argument with Luhan. “I-“

 

“Just tell people it’s none of their business or something, you know, the way you usually handle things,” Felix added. He followed Minseok out of the room. “Do you think there are any pancakes left?”

 

***

 

The noodles were delicious.

 

Kris took him  around the city for a little bit, not really bothering to speak at all. He just followed behind Junmyeon, letting him lead the way unless Junmyeon asked for a place like where to buy candy and souvenirs. (He was not going to forget about his friend after all. He couldn’t wait to surprise him with limited edition pocky sticks.)

 

He asked Kris earlier if he knew a good place to eat, which explained why he was here in a shop called Newdles, eating, well..

 

Noodles.

 

Anyways.

 

“Kris,” Junmyeon asked him. Kris just had his head in his right hand, staring at the table. “Is something, wrong? Aren’t you going to eat?”

 

Kris shrugged, not bothering to make eye contact. “No, I’m not hungry.”

 

“But, I mean,” Junmyeon pointed to Kris, who haven’t bothered to order anything for himself. “Don’t you have to eat something?” It was way past lunchtime, and Kris didn’t eat anything during breakfast at the rice shop either.

 

Kris shook his head. “No, I’m okay. Don’t make a comment about blood, either.”

 

“Kris, drop the vampire status for a second, okay?” Junmyeon was really tempted to raise his voice at him but knew that you couldn’t say stuff about that in public. He pushed his bowl and chopsticks towards Kris. “You have to eat.”

 

“Junmyeon, you barely know me, stop acting like you care about my health for one second.” Kris pushed back the food towards Junmyeon. “I’m. Not. Hungry.”

 

Oh, well. Looks like Kris was a stubborn person.

 

_How was he going to persuade him…._

 

“Well, if you’re not going to eat today, then I’m going to have to buy less food for my Thai curry soup. Thanks, now I’m going to have to change all my calculations.”

 

Kris perked up. “What do you, Thai curry soup? You can cook?”

 

“Some stuff,” Junmyeon explained. “Baekhyun likes a lot of types of soup that I make, and well, since he’s in stuck in bed because of his foot, I thought I would make him something. Where do you guys buy your groceries? Do you guys even _buy_ them?”

 

“We have to eat _somehow_ , Junmyeon, we’re not the complete opposite of humans.” Kris scoffed at him before grabbing the spare menu off their table. “I only going to eat because I want to try your cooking.”

 

“You want to _what_ now-“

 

“I mean,” _shit. “_ I have to judge whether you cook or not. For all I know you could be bad at it.”

 

Junmyeon frowned. “I mean, it’s edible. That’s all that really matters-“

 

“Nope, too late, I want to try some. Here, let’s see,” Kris opened the menu and lifted it up to cover his face as he pretended to read it (really, though, his face was red but he wasn’t going to give Junmyeon any satisfaction whatsoever. It was going to be the other way around if he had a say in it. “What noodles are you having again?”

 

“I don’t know, soba something- hey wait, where are you going?” Kris had jumped out of his seat midsentence and went to the order station, leaving Junmyeon alone.

 

He sighed. He couldn’t understand this… this Kris person. One minute, it looked like he was a serial killer and the next an immature 12 year old. Put him in a Hebrew class and he would have understood more. Wait, they had an alphabet right? But they wrote from the opposi-

 

His phone vibrating with an incoming message, which could only meant Baekhyun. Earlier through text messages, Baekhyun had mentioned that he had collapse on his leg and it appeared to have gotten worse. Junmyeon had been hoping to hear more from him.

 

He opened up his phone and saw that it was an attached image, which just showed a leg wrapped in bandages and placed on a pillow. That was an awful lot of bandages.

 

 _JustJunmyeon: U shld have let me gone back with u_.

 

_Baekhyun the great: Forget about me hows ur date goin_

_JustJunmyeon: This isn’t school so im not going to correct u. idk how to describe it_

_Baekhyun the great: Plz hurry up and get 2gether already we need to go on a double date soon jun_

_JustJunmyeon: Dang baek wtf is that type of thinking go with Xiumin and Luhan or something_

_Baekhyun the great: But didn’t u hear about their big fight this morning? Everyone knows bout it_

 

“A fight?” Junmyeon said under his breath. Xiumin and Luhan _fought_? Well, all couples fight at one point, maybe it’s not that serious-

 

“Oh, you heard of Xiumin and Luhan?” Junmyeon practically got whiplash from the speed of which he lifted his head up. There was Kris, bowl of noodles in his hand, weird look on his face. “Who told you?”

 

“Was I not supposed to know?” Junmyeon questioned him. “Baekhyun told me. What exactly happened?”

 

His question went unanswered as Kris started eating his noodles, the two of them continuing in silence.

 

***

 

“How’d your date go?” Baekhyun asked Junmyeon, who had just now entered the room where Baekhyun was now staying.

 

It was a nice room. The building had a whole section which served as a mini-hospital. They even had their own rooms for medical history files, surgery, and medications, plus loads of rooms where people like Baekhyun now could stay.

 

That was a scary morning. Baekhyun tried to get off the bed but he then felt some sort of crack or rip or whatever going on in his ankle and it _hurt._ He couldn’t help it but scream because of the pain, and all he could do until Chanyeol took him here was sob. The rest of the day was spent doing some weird types of test for Yixing and Kyungsoo, which ran from modern tests like X-rays and scans and whatever to some weird magic detection spell. They still haven’t told him the results yet.

 

 Chanyeol was fast asleep by Baekhyun's side before Junmyeon came, having been worn out after running around trying to help him with everything. This was nothing new. However, when his best friend came after his outing, Chanyeol left to give them some privacy while he went to ask why it was taking so long. Bakehyun couldn't help but agree.

 

He pretty much spent the whole day texting Junmyeon, who was now in the room with a depressed look on his face.

 

“I’m confused.” He finally said. “Too much. I can’t. No.”

 

 _What the fuck_ Baekhyun thought to himself. _What does that even mean._

Hold up. Why didn't Junmyeon correct him? “Um, can you explain that again, with details this time-“

 

“I’m so tired,” Junmyeon tried again. “I just need a break.”

 

“Sit here next to me, we can just sleep-“

 

“Not physically, Baek,” Junmyeon explained. “I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep anyways. Besides, it’s the afternoon.”

 

“Then why don’t you tell me what’s going on?” Baekhyun asked him. “I told you everything that happened today, not that much has happened anyways, well, you know. Please?” Baekhyun pouted and Junmyeon knew he was going to give in to his nagging anyways.

 

“Nothing, just that the fight you mentioned that happened earlier put Kris in a mood all day. By the way, what was that about, anyways? You said it would be better to talk about it face-to-face.”

 

“Well, I asked Chanyeol about it, and apparently those two have always had a stressful relationship. Always bickering, don’t share certain views, and now it’s all my fault apparently.” Baekhyun threw his head back onto the bed and covered himself with the blanket. “I’m a dumbass.”

 

“You’re not a dumbass, who called you that?” Junmyeon asked. He walked over to the bed (damn, that was a big bed) and lied down beside Baekhyun, who threw the blanket above Junmyeon as well.

 

“Me trusting strangers could have gotten me and you guys killed and now their fighting because of my stupid need to put lip gloss. I hate my life.”

 

“Baekhyun, bad stuff happened to people all the time, that doesn’t make them  dumb.” Junmyeon tried to think of a good explanation. “Is Chanyeol a dumbass?”

 

“What?! Junmyeon, no, why would you-“

 

“His loved one got kidnapped. Tell me, is Chanyeol a dumbass?”

 

“N-no BUT that doesn’t make sense, I’m the one who got kidnapped. Looks like you’re the du-”

 

“The point is, we all deal with hardships and that doesn’t make us dumb. You’re ideas, however,”  Junmyeon shook his head. “Yeah, let’s not talk about that.”

 

“What do you mean, I have dumb ideas? Excuse you, I’m the only one here who _has_ any ideas, anyways.”

 

“Ah, yes. Now I don’t have ideas nor do I think. Silly me. Always knew I was good for nothing.” Junmyeon grabbed one of the spare pillows and covered his face with it. “I hate my life,” he said, voice muffled.

 

“Sir, I’m the one with the broken foot here, don’t make yourself the victim.” Baekhyun tried to wiggle said foot, but it was difficult with the cast that replaced the previous bandages. “Junmyeon, I’m scared, what if they cut it off?”

 

“They’re not going to cut off your foot, Baekhyun, come on.” Junmyeon whipped Baekhyun’s head with the pillow, earning a yelp from the latter. “Remember, get rid of your stupid ideas.”

 

“Get rid of your pessimism, first, Junmyeon. Until then, no.”

 

“You’re the one who thought they were going to cut off his foot two seconds ago!” Junmyeon shouted. “You’re petty.”

 

“Whatever.” Baekhyun pouted. “I want both my limbs.”

 

“You have four-“

 

“I want all of my attached appendages, there. Hey, are you in the mood for tootsie rolls?”

 

“Tootsie what?” Junmyeon started asking until Baekhyun grabbed the black duffel bag squeezed between the bed and nightstand and unzipped it.

 

Junmyeon peered inside, only to find, well,

 

Tootsie rolls.

 

“Why do you have so many?” Junmyeon asked. “Don’t tell me you brought this from home.”

 

Baekhyun smiled. “It’s a secret.”

 

“Is it _tall?_ ”

 

“Jun-junmyeon, shut UP!” Baekhyun threw the pillow back to Junmyeon but missed as Junmyeon managed to dodge the throw. “Besides, I have a plan set up, and I need your help with it.”

 

“What is it about? Better not be me-“

 

The door opened, shutting them both up as they saw Kyungsoo, Yixing, and Chanyeol enter. Chanyeol immediately went next to Baekhyun, kissing his forehead and asking him if he was okay while the other two just stayed at the other side of the room.

 

Yixing spoke up first. “Baekhyun, we have some bad news-“

 

“You _are_ going to cut off my foot?” Baekhyun interrupted him.

 

“Wha-no! No, no, no, that’s not what, why-“ Kyungsoo said, already vigorously rubbing his eyes with his hands. “Chanyeol, what have you told him?”

 

“I haven’t said anything all day! You guys told me not too!”

 

“Wow, he actually listened to us,” Kyungsoo replied. “Anyways, no. No blood involved, actually, well, maybe a bit-“

 

“Surgery-“

 

“Not YOURS. Anyways, there was a hidden hex placed on you and we just now removed it. So, bad news, your leg is in a worse condition than before and you’ll need a cast and crutches, but good news is it’s not going to get any more worse.”

 

“Your bone was completely shattered in some places but I was able to reduce it to just a couple of fractures,” Yixing added. “But there was difficulty in reconstructing some of the blood vessels so I had to do angioplasty-“

 

“You’re wearing a cast for some weeks, okay?” Kyungsoo concluded. “Plus there’s some medication that you have to drink and some supplements I made but other than that…. Yeah….”

 

“I think the guys back at the warehouse must have added the hex.” Chanyeol suggested. “They were really out to get us. The other guys back in the forest didn’t have that sense of magic.”

 

“Well, I don’t know why they would have it hidden if they planned to kill all of us, but who knows, maybe they would have kept him or.. I don’t know, to be honest.”

 

“I hope nothing gets too ugly, though,” Baekhyun whispered.

 

Junmyeon patted his head. “Don’t worry, it’ll be fine.”

 

He couldn’t remember which one of them told more lies that day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha.. sorry....
> 
> school is really busy so I won't keep a constant schedule for a while, but I will try to write a lot during the weekends, especially in breaks. I need summer again tbh
> 
> STREAM IDOL
> 
> and got7 is having a song in spanish in their new album monday! I NEED IT


	13. Blow Over It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> havent edited it so don't judge

“This is the right address, right? Right Sehun, right-“  


“Jonghyun we’re supposed to be quiet-“  


“Right Sehun right right right is this right-“

 

Sehun sighed, knowing Jonghyun wasn’t going to shut up. Well, he was already mad at him to begin with. Fucking Jonghyun stole his ramyeon earlier. Didn’t even apologized.

 

“Jonghyun, we’ve been here before!! You’ve already met Yoongi before!”

 

“Yeah, but look!” Jonghyun pointed at some random place in the distance.  “Now he has green hair instead of blond!”

 

“He has- wait what-“Sehun turned to see where Jonghyun was pointing at and it wasn’t a random location after all. He was pointing at a green-haired Yoongi who was indeed coming at them while they spoke.   


Yoongi, with his I’m-dead-inside face that everyone always compared to Kris’, reached up to where they were, arms crossed across his chest while looking more dead than usual. He usually wore black, that wasn’t surprising; his outfit today consisted of a black hoodie over a white shirt with the same pair of black jeans and sneakers that he wore. There was more black present than usual – well, more like dark purple, which consisted of the fairly large bruises present on his jawbone and dark bags under his eyes. His hair wasn’t styled as usual, either.

 

Honestly, Yoongi looked like a mess.

 

When the three met each other and exchanged the usual greetings/what they’ve been up to, Yoongi was a bit off as well. Usually he would add an insult here or there, but not today it appeared. Plus, he kept getting distracted during their conversation; his  gaze kept wandering off, he would take some more time than usual to reply.

 

Jonghyun must have sensed this as well because he asked him, “Hey, Yoongi, are you okay? You’re acting weird today.”  


Yoongi put his hands in his pockets, shifting his weight back and forth for a bit before responding. “Do you guys remember Jimin last time we saw each other?”

 

“Yeah, the human from Busan,” Sehun replied, “the one who barely left his house all the time.” Jimin reminded him of those two teens that are staying over at their place, that Baekhyun and Junmyeon. Although those two stayed in their house alone by choice, while Jimin had-

 

Oh.

 

That must be the reason why Yoongi looked so depressed.

 

“Yeah, well, now he’s bedridden. He’s so tired and fatigued all the time and now he’s too sick to leave his bed. I don’t think he has much time left.”

 

“I’m sorry,” was the only thing Sehun responded with, and he meant it. He knew how hard it was to love someone you loved.

 

Jimin was a human that Yoongi met a few months ago at a park near a hospital. His doctors couldn’t identify what was wrong with him, only that his organs were failing and that there was only so much they could do. Turns out a demon had put the spell on Jimin but of course he didn’t know it at that time. Yoongi had sensed the spell and thus led him to their to become acquaintances to lovers.

 

A relationship that won’t last much longer.

 

“Hey, Yoongi, that’s actually why we came here to meet with you today.” Jonghyun spoke up, trying to break the tension. “You remember that witch that we have been trying to track, right?”

 

Yoongi nodded, gaze still focused on the ground. “Yeah, what about it?”  


“We found his location-“ Yoongi’s head shot right up. “and where he’s located. He’s actually in Busan-“

 

“Busan?!” Yoongi practically screamed at  him, not caring that they were in a public setting. “He’s in Busan? Like right now?”  


“We need you guy’s help.” Sehun concluded. “We have a whole plan set up but we’re leaving next week, we just want to know if you guys will agree to it-“  
  
“Agree to it?!” Yep, Yoongi wasn’t using his regular quiet voice anymore. “Agree?! Of couse, why, why would I _not_ agree, he can fucking help save Jimin, why-“ Yoongi started fidgety with hands now. “I can’t believe- I need to tell them the good news-“  


“Okay, we don’t know if the witch is willing to help us,” Jonghyun continued, “so we really need to persuade him. And persuade him good. If one, just _one_ of us gets on his bad side, we don’t what he can do.”

 

“Wait.” Yoongi started gaining his normal cold expression again. “A _week_? Why our you guys waiting for- damn, we need to go now! Why wait!?!”  


“Sehun’s not confident,” Jonghyun snitched. “You know all the precautions he likes to take-“  


“This is our one shot, we can’t screw it up!” Sehun shouted over him. “You know how delicate the situation is-“

 

“I will literally give you everything I have,” Yoongi flat-out replied. “Please, make this as soon as possible, please-“

 

“Yoongi, you know we can’t do that, we have to patient-“  


“Patient, my ass, if you think I will let Jimin suffer one more fucking second I will kill you guys before heading off myself.”

 

“If we head out now, we can reach Busan at 5.” Jonghyun took out his phone to try to find the next train to depart. “But we need to head out now.”

 

***

 

“Hey, Minseok, do you want to-“

 

“No, I don’t want to do anything, no, I don’t want to _eat_ anything, and no, I don’t want to fucking talk to anyone!” Minseok shouted. He turned away to face the person behind him. “Stop fucking-oh,” he stopped when he noticed it was Chen Le with tears in his face.

 

Shit.

 

Damn, he really was being an asshole today. Even though he got so fucking tired of everyone taking pity on him. Now he made a kid cry.

 

Well, Chen Le has been around for 40 years but anyways. He stopped aging at around 14.

 

“Hey, I’m sorr-Chen Le, hey Ch-I’m sorry, Chen Le, hey-“ it was no use. Something in his brain must have turned on all of the faucets because he started crying. All Minseok could do was pull him into a hug. He would have to wait until the bawling turned to sniffling.

 

Chen Le was one of the sensitive kids, but mostly the younger ones. Some of them have seen some nasty shit. Plenty of them had parents who tried to murder them. Yeah, not the growing up they deserved.

 

The younger male pulled away from Minseok after a minute, probably already embarrassed. “Sorry, I’ll just leave-“

 

“Wait, what were you going to ask me?”  


“I just-“ Chen Le wiped his eyes with his long sleeves. “I wanted to go to that pizza restaurant but you know how we can’t go alone and-“

 

“Yeah, I’ll go with you, don’t worry.  I’m actually hungry, I’ve just been using the same line all day because of.. you know,” Minseok replied.

 

“Oh, yeah, not because of that, you’re just the only one who’s willing to with me.” Chen Le started digging in his pockets, face frowning as he struggled for a bit, until he pulled out what he was looking for. “And look, I have coupons!” he beamed.

 

“COUPONS,” Minseok shouted. “LET’S DO THIS.”

 

They both skipped their way to the stairs, already fantasizing about the greasy meal. Minseok liked to hang out with the kids. He was practically close to more than half of them, and he wasn’t stopping. Some of newer ones, like Lucas, Kun, and Jungwoo  he had never met since he had been gone for so long, but they were always really friendly. If you treated them right, of course.

 

Something that he hadn’t been doing today.

 

“Hey, invite the guy that you like,” Minseok piped up, trying to be playful with Chen Le as always. “Who was it, you didn’t reveal it last time. Renjun? Jisung? J-“

 

“Minseok! Noooo!” Chen covered his eyes. “I’m not telling you, I don’t need relationship advice again.”

 

“Wow, both you and Baekhyun are becoming blushing messes,” Minseok teased. “And clearly, you’re not the one who needs relationship advice.”

 

 _I’m not even sure if I’m still in a relationship at all_.

 

***

 

“What is all this in here?” Junmyeon did not like all of these feelings of confusion.

 

First, he’s been confused about…..what they were going through. All of the supernatural stuff. Hey, he needed time to adjust to this. His entire world has been one big lie.

 

Second, because of his outing earlier with…..wait the outing. Just the outing. Nevermind forget about the outing-oh, yeah what Kris told him about during the outing. Yeah, that left him confused. Minseok wasn’t the fighting type.

 

Third, he still had trouble calling Minseok… well, Minseok. He switches between Xiumin and Minseok.

 

And now, the fourth one, what in the _world_ was Baekhyun doing in this makeshift hospital room?   


He was in a wheelchair wearing a hospital gown, his big cast looking out of place with his slim body. There was a whole assortment scattered on the bed where Baekhyun had been all day, the edge of the bed having that sinful bag of chocolate. That wasn’t the creeping part, though. The question was…why the hell was there a giant chalkboard in the room?!  


It was one of those giant, moveable ones. How did it even manage to get in the door-

 

Oh, it could have been Kyungsoo. Confusion feeling number #1 coming back again, see above.

 

Baekhyun was writing something on bottom on the chalkboard, just a short and a tall stick figure. He smiled when he realized Junmyeon was there. “Oh, you’re here! Hurry up, I’ve been waiting for you. Here,” he dropped his white chalk on the metal bar and grabbed all of the papers on the bed, stacking them nice and neatly on the nightstand while patting the bed beside him. “Sit down, I need to give you the lesson.”

 

“What lesson? Wait, what?” Junmyeon asked while obeying to Baekhyun’s request, sitting softly onto the bed while Baekhyun rolled back to the chalkboard.

 

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. “Junmyeon, close your eyes for a few seconds real quick.”  


“I don’t like this,” Junmyeon complained, palms already covering his eyes.

 

He waited for like two minutes, the only sound being the chalk scratching the chalkboard. He didn’t dare remove his hands from his face until Baekhyun said so. And when he did, he wished he kept it covered.

 

There, in big, bold letters, Baekhyun wrote “HOW TO BE AN INDEPENDENT WOMEN IN THE PRESENCE OF YOUR CRUSH”.

 

“What the-Baekhyun, did you get put in this room for your mental state, too?!”  
  
“This ain’t for you, stupid!” Baekhyun shouted. “I need advice, but I want to play teacher. So can you please help me?” Baekhyun then cleared his throat. “Okay, class, do you guys have any suggestions to this topic? If you don’t say any ideas, you will receive a zero for your participation grade in being a best friend.”

 

_?????_

This was stupid. “Baekhyun, why did you write women first of all-“

 

“I thought it sounded cool.” Baekhyun shrugged. “THIS APPLIES TO EVERYONE, THOUGH! Now, class, let me hear your suggestions.”  


“And I thought you and Chanyeol were already seeing each other, weren’t you gushing to me earlier about how smooth his lips were?”  


“Jeesh, Junmyeon, this isn’t language arts, class, now stop editing my work. I’m perfect, flaws and breaks and all.” Baekhyun smiled at his comment but soon it turned into a frown. “Except with the break in my foot. Stupid whatever fracture. WHY DIDN’T THEY SPECIFY THE FRACTURE I COULD HAVE KNOWN HOW SERIOUS IT IS-“  


“My first suggestion,” Junmyeon started, “is to not let your emotions get to you-“

 

“MY FOOT HAS BEEN HURTING ALL DAY!” Baekhyun wailed to himself. “I’M A TERRIBLE HUMAN BEING-“

 

“On second thought, I won’t be giving suggestions anymore,” Junmyeon said.

 

Baekhyun stopped wailing and his smile returned again. “Okay, don’t worry class, it’s fine if you don’t know anything and you’re as stupid as me!” Baekhyun took his chalk and wrote on the board ‘#1 – Word Diction’.

 

“First of all, don’t swoon over everything he does. If he gives you a mango smoothie, congrats, he’s a thoughtful person. Don’t start spewing nonsense like ‘I love you so much you mean the world to me let me plan the wedding now.’”  


“Baekhyun, your dramatic level,” Junmyeon interrupted, “is all the way up here. Bring it to a minimum.”  


“Do I look like a knob switch?” Baekhyun retorted back. He used his free hand to pick up the pointer stick and pointed to the sentence on the board. “Words are really important in a conversation. Don’t look like an idiot. Don’t hurt his feelings by rejecting his chicken salad earlier when he came in to offer you lunch and you said no and-“  


“You could have told me you wanted to rant today,” Junmyeon said. “I’m used to it anyways.”

 

“Let’s move on two number,” Baekhyun continued, writing on the board ‘#2 – State Your Position’. “No, we are not talking about sex positions-“

 

“BAEKHYUN-“  


“I’M STILL A VIRGIN I DON’T KNOW ANYTHING remember when I said I was stupid, but anyways, don’t submit to anything he says. During sex or miscellaneous. Like telling yourself you don’t want lunch but you give in to his chicken salad because he just looked so sad and you-“

 

“Why are we doing this again,” Junmyeon interrupted again as well. “What is the point-“  


“If I’m going to be limited on my options of being somewhere, I want to do the best that I can,” Baekhyun replied. “And because I freaking hate this imprinting thing! I turn into a lovesick mess if he is in the freaking same room as me!! Look how easy I gave in to dating him!! Next thing you know, we’ll be making out on his bed and we’ll-“

 

“Who will what?” Both of them turned around to see Chanyeol in the doorway, a tall glass with an orange drink inside it. “I brought you the mango smoothie.”  


Baekhyun smiled. “I love you.”

 

“I love you too,” Chanyeol replied, handing Baekhyun the glass before leaning down to give him a peck on his lips. “You mean the world to me.”

 

“Me too,” Baekhyun replied, leaning in to give him another peck. “Let me-“

 

“Why do you keep drinking smoothies today?” Junmyeon asked. So far, Baekhyun has drunk a cherry smoothie, a watermelon smoothie, a berry medley smoothie, a tropical blend-whatever that means.

 

Chanyeol pulled already away to glance at the chalkboard while Baekhyun screamed ‘I don’t tell you how to live your life.’ “Hey, Baekyun, what are doing to the chalkboard that Yixing gave you?”

 

Baekhyun blushed. “Well, you see… Junmyeon needed some help, in fact-“

 

“What!” Junmyeon jumped out of the bed. “Way to throw the bus under me!”

 

Chanyeol frowned. “I didn’t know Junmyeon was a girl.”  


“Spelling mistake,” Baekhyun said. Chanyeol took the bait.

 

Chanyeol grinned, turning towards Junmyeon. “I didn’t know you liked someone! But what do you mean by state your position? Is he taking advantage of you? Does-“

 

“Hey, Chanyeol, you in here?” Kris poked his head into the room. “Oh, what are you guys doin- wait, what’s that on the board?” he asked, already entering the room.

 

“Oh, Baekhyun here said that this was advice for-“  


“NO ONE I WAS TELLING JUNMYEON ABOUT A MEME I SAW ON TWITTER!” Baekhyun shouted. “Right Chanyeol? Right?”  


Chanyeol pondered this for a minute. “I don’t get it.”

 

“Look, Kris, I don’t know what’s  going on, please don’t ask me anything,” Junmyeon asked in a last attempt to save his dignity.

 

“Um… okay,” Kris agreed. “I was going to ask Chanyeol something but it can wait-“  


“Oh, is it about Siwon?” Chanyeol asked him. They were supposed to have a meeting earlier. “How did it go?”  


“Terrible. We were in a middle of a conversation and a freaking rabid wolf starts trying to kill us.” Kris lifted up half of his shirt. “Look at the scratches he made at me.  I have yet to take care of this.”

 

“Oh, Junmyeon is really good at taking care of injuries,” Baekhyun started. “Why don’t you ask him for help?”  


“I’m literally in the room, you know-“

 

“It’s fine, I just need to drink this supplement, it’s no big deal-“  


“Oh, why don’t-“

 

“I’ll get the first aid kit,” Junmyeon got off the bed and went to the bathroom. His friend needed to stop being so hopeful-

 

Wait, not hopeful. There’s nothing he should be hopeful for. Well, actually there’s a lot of stuff, but not what Baekhyun’s mind was thinking.

 

Right?  


***

 

“Sehun are you sure this is the right address?”  


“I’m having a sense of déjà vu right now,” Sehun said. “Please stop it with the questions.” He ranged the doorbell again but no one responded.

 

This address was.. simple, he guessed. There was a neighborhood in the forest (nothing as ridiculous like Junmyeon and Baekhyun’s place, though) with a ginormous house a bit far apart from the rest. Which made sense, Sehun supposed. I mean, a witch lived there, why not.

 

Unless they got the location wrong.

 

Jonghyun sent a text to Yoongi, who was stationed nearby in case Jonghyun and Sehun were taken alive and Yoongi needed backup for someone to rescue them. _No 1 is answering_.

 

The three little dots kept appearing and disappearing until there was a final _open the door. Plz._

 

“Yoongi says to open the door,” Jonghyun told Sehun. “Do you think so?”

 

“That’s not a good id- Jonghyun!” Sehun shouted, but Jonghyun ignored him anyways and already broke the doorknob. “Why did you do that?!”

 

“We can always apologize and offer to fix it again! Come on.” He opened the door with some maneuvering and then they stepped inside.

 

It was… surprising. The inside was very big – the walls were painted a gorgeous shade of dark red, with all the furniture being black, red, or white. All of the decorations were minimalistic but they stood up. Some clearly expensive rugs were on some places. And of course, there was a grand staircase.

 

Clearly this person knew how decorate.

 

“Wow, this is so cool!” Jonghyun whispered. “I can’t imagine-wait, what the-Sehun do you see the bars!?”

 

Yes, he did. One minute, Sehun was admiring the interior, and then when he blinked, he was now stuck in cage. While still remaining in the foyer.

 

Oh, yeah. A witch’s house. They probably had security spells. Why did they freaking enter the house, again? Their protection crosses didn’t even work, so for a witch to be able to break the crosses’ spell….they needed an _insanely_ amount of power. Those protection crosses came from angels _themselves._ The stronghold alone only had five of them which only could be used by those doing something _extremely_ dangerous and risky. Like now. Not that it mattered because they were going to die anyways.

 

“I can’t believe some stupid idiots are breaking into my house again.” Jonghyun and Sehun froze, startled to hear a voice. “Gosh, I can’t even manually blow dry my hair, now, I’m going to have to use my powers to do it.”

 

They didn’t know where the voice was coming from until they saw him – there was a young man on the top of the staircase coming down, dressed up in some Gucci bathrobe and slippers, hair dryer in his hand.

 

Sehun closed his eyes. This…. This _diva_ was the witch they have been hearing of? _The_ witch that they have spent a long time looking for, the one they hoped to cure Minseok, to cure Jimin, to bring him back his-

 

“Okay. Which one of you two should I killed firs- wait, that sounds crazy, hold one. Why did you guys break into my-“ the witch stopped in his steps when he reached the bottom of the stairs.

 

He didn’t finish his sentence. Weird. Sehun managed to get out of his frozen state and turned to see what the witch was staring at with his eyes wide open, and-

 

The witch was staring really intently at Jonghyun, who was also staring him back.

 

No one spoke a word. Jonghyun and the witch stared at each other in surprise, no one bothering to make a move, while Sehun stared at the two of them wondering what the hell was going on and how he was going to die. That’s when it clicked him.

 

_Oh, shit._

 

The witch finally, _finally_ , looked away from Jonghyun. “No, dammit, no, _why now,_ of all the times-“ the witch started muttering to himself.

 

The witch turned to face them again. “I guess I should introduce myself, then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. WE GO UP UP UP OOH WOAH UP 2. Bts at the UN?! OmG RM IM SO PROUD OF YOU 3. LAY REALEASING A US ALBUM 22 SONGS HALF IN CHINESE HALF IN ENGLISH 4. NCT 127 HAVING A COMEBACK A SONG WITH KOREAN AND ENGLISH VERs 5. GOT7 LULLABY HAS 4 VERSIONS INCLUDING SPANISH IN ENGLIsh
> 
> me: woop woop woop woop (firetruck) 
> 
> hit me WITH YOUR THEORIES yo


	14. The Eye of the Beholder (But He’s Blind)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haven't edited so BE WARNED

“Hey, Minseok, before we go home, can we go get a new book,” Chen Le asked him. The three of them were walking on the sidewalk and were trying to find where Minseok parked the car. (Chen Le asked Jungwoo to come because one, he thought it would be nice for Minseok to meet one of his friends and two, this Lucas kid was getting too close to Jungwoo and it was creeping him out. He needed to ask Jungwoo about this.)

 

Minseok didn’t really want to let these two out of his sight but figured nothing bad could happen in a span of, what, ten minutes? And besides, he was going to keep a close on him and not rely on anywhere. They would be fine.

 

“Sure, it’s fine, but you only  got fifteen minutes since it’s already getting dark. Here.” Minseok opened up his wallet and got out his debit card. “Go crazy. We got the car anyways  so we don’t have to worry about how to carry the bags.”  


Chen Le and Jungwoo’s eyes lit up to the size of those jumbo marshmallows they stuffed themselves with earlier. “Okay, but you’re going to have to read the book I buy you!”

 

“No, two,” Jungwoo whispered to him. “Two! I want him to read the one I told you about.”  


“Oh, you’re right. Two books!” Chen Le exclaimed. “You have to read them. Promise.”  


“Sure, but you do realized your time is ticking away, right?”

 

Their eyes grew bigger again, but in fear this time. “No fair, reset! Reset!” they exclaimed.

 

“I’m kidding, but go now, I’ll just read what you want.” He shooed them away, laughing as he saw them skip away while already pointing at shelfs and stands in the store.

 

Minseok decided to wait at the sidewalk, sitting down over the curb while he just stared at his surroundings, not wanting to get distracted. He had to be on high alert. Which is why when he started to detect a wolf’s presence nearby, he could already feel his skin prickling, only to calm down when he realized who it was by scent alone. Then he remembered he was arguing with said person and he felt his skin prickle again.

 

He didn’t bother looking up when said person sat down beside him, also focusing on the road and people ahead.

 

“So how’s it going,” Luhan asked him, both of them still not daring to look at the other. Minseok scoffed at his dumb question.

 

“Kind of hard to do when you only get to relax like three  seconds a day, and even that is a miracle.” Minseok gave up staring at the setting and just resorted to putting his hands on his lap and staring at them on his lap. He could practically feel their old argument about to resurface.

 

Luhan just sighed, taking some time to pick his next words carefully. “You know you don’t have to do everything, Minseok,” he said slowly.

 

“And what? Expect others to do it? How can you guarantee that they’ll do it? Only to just live for the rest of your life-“ _shit don’t cry dumbass_ “wondering if….if maybe you could…… I don’t know, I could have done something, I could have prevented it.”

 

“Prevent what?” Luhan asked him.

 

“Just……it’s happened before. A lot of times. And now I’m fucking poisoned, probably going to end up as a psychopath. A handful of my friends are dead. Hamyeon and Junkwan. Zitao. Soora’s missing. I’m stuck in a situation where I just….don’t know what to expect.”

 

Luhan, sensing Minseok was about to tear up, could only wrap both his arms around Minseok and pull him closer, the other not making any movement of struggle. Minseok snuggled his head on Luhan’s neck, which was already turning wet due to Minseok’s tear, his skin glistening under the streetlights. Luhan couldn’t remember the last time he saw his boyfriend in this state. Hell, this was probably the first.

 

He raised up his hand to rub small circles on Minseok’s scalp with his thumb, accidently ruffling his hair in the process. “Minseok, I want you to pay very close attention to what I want to say,” he whispered.

 

The small, muffled sniffles he heard from the other was his confirmation to go on.

 

“Look, I don’t know what you’ve been through, okay? I’ll admit that. I don’t know how the demon blood is making you suffer.”

 

“I go crazy if I am going through an extreme amount of emotions,” Minseok added.

 

“Wait, what?” This was news to Luhan.

 

“If I get too worked over something, there’s a possibility that I might get out of control and accidently trigger something.”

 

“But…that’s happened multiple times before, though. It doesn’t make any sense-“

 

“I take some blockers, but they aren’t effective over everything, though. Pain. Pleasure. Sad-“

 

“Wait, _pleasure_? You’re not allow to feel _pleasure?_ Happiness? Are you supposed to be bored all the time-“

 

“Not _that_ type of pleasure, idiot,” Minseok hissed under his breath.

 

Oh. _Oh._ _OH_.

 

That shut him up.

 

Well, that was some strong willpower that Minseok possessed. Usually, wolves consummated in a few months, which is why it was such a big deal why they haven’t slept together yet. Baekhyun and Chanyeol were probably going to sleep with each other in a few weeks, tops.

 

He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to feel flattered (aka turned on) by the fact that Minseok practically told him to his face that he thought Luhan was going to make him feel extreme pleasure during sex, or hatred towards that demon since it was his fault that he hadn’t made love to his boyfriend. He always thought that Minseok probably just didn’t want it. Which was fine. That wasn’t they issue anyways.

 

Oh, yeah, Luhan was telling him something.

 

“Anyways, look, I don’t know what’s happened in the past, Minseok, and I know I don’t know anything, but…. I just want you to know that I’m for anything, okay? Whatever decision you feel is best, I will support you with it, no matter how strongly I disagree. Don’t ever say you are alone because you aren’t. I’m here for you and I always have been. As for earlier, I….I’m sorry about what I said. I am worried about how you might…treat someone, but-“  


“Luhan-“

 

“Gosh, Minseok, how hard is it to understand that I’m worried about you?” Shit, Luhan could already sense his face getting wet, too. “I care about you. You matter to me. Don’t act like you sacrificing yourself isn’t going to bother to anyone because it’ll bother me!” He hugged Minseok closer to him, not wanting him to see his face. “I’m just worried if…you do something and if you regret it. I know you get sensitive when someone gets hurt, and I don’t want you to see what you would do to yourself if you were the cause of that.”

 

They stayed in each other’s embrace for a while, not wanting to leave yet. Minseok doesn’t know how long they stayed like that, but he when he finally did pull away, it was to plant a small kiss on Luhan lips, the latter quickly returning it back to him, the two of them soon involved in a mini make-out session.

 

When they finally pulled back from each other in a desperate attempt to regain their breaths, they heard a loud “MINSEOKKKKKKK LOOKKKKK” coming from behind them.

 

It was Chen Le and Jungwoo, each holding a big, paper bag bigger than their torso. They took his offer seriously. “Look at all the books they had!” Chen Le told him, his smile glowing even though they were in the dark.

 

“I bought three manga series,” Jungwoo whispered. “They had Korean translations.”  


The two of them were so focused on their little (well not exactly) shopping spree that it took them a while to notice that there was another person beside Minseok.

 

“Oh, look, it’s Luhan! Jungwoo, remember I told you about Minseok’s boyfriend? That’s him. Luhan!”  


“Hey, Chen Le!” Luhan shouted, waving to the two who were now both struggling. “Oh, dang it, let me help you guys.” He got up from the sidewalk and took their bags, receiving an endless stream of thank yous since _damn,_ were those bags heavy. “You guys came in car, right?”  


“Oh, yeah, it’s over there!” Chen Le pointed to a street two blocks away. “Minseok didn’t want us to ride bikes in the night.”  


“Minseok, your boyfriend is so nice,” Jungwoo whispered to him.

 

Minseok smiled. “He is.”

 

***

 

“Kris, Kris, Kris!” Kris could hear Jongdae’s scream from a mile away. “Where are you, Kris!”  


“Oh my gosh, we’re in here, dumbass!” Kris attempted to shout over Jongdae who was in god-knows-where.

 

Jongdae opened the door so hard, the door bounced off the wall with a loud _smack_. “Emergency meeting in five minutes. Regular spot. Everyone needs to be present.” He left as soon as he entered, not even bothering to close the door as his screams for Vernon could be heard. He probably didn’t even notice a certain someone cleaning up some wounds on Kris’ bare chest and stomach.

 

“Now what the _fuck_ is going on,” Kris muttered under his breath.

 

Junmyeon couldn’t answer, only reaching for the gauze to wrap around Kris’ stomach, ignoring the other’s pleas that he didn’t need it. Junmyeon wasn’t going to get accustomed to whatever magic they had yet. He needed to make sure on his own account.

 

After taping it, he tossed the rest of gauze into his first-aid kit that he brought from back home. “I don’t know how it works for you guys, but make sure to clean it twice a day to prevent any infection.”

 

Kris just chuckled in response. “You’re not used to this world, yet, haven’t you?”

 

“Last time I checked, there’s only one, or let me guess, there are multiple dimensions, too?”  


“I don’t know, I think Sehun knows the answer, though, because of his ex.” He grabbed the spare shirt he had on his bed and put it on. “You dodging the question.”  


“I mean, there is no answer, though,” Junmyeon replied. “You can’t expect for someone to get used to something so quickly.”

 

“So what I’m getting is that you take a longer-than-necessary time to adapt in certain situations?” Kris asked him.

 

“Well, exclusion is a good method,” Junmyeon muttered. “Well…..I guess that didn’t last.”

 

“Junmyeon-“  


“You got to go to your meeting,” Junmyeon reminded him. “I don’t know how serious it is but Jongdae looked pretty shaken up.”

 

Kris was rummaging around his room for his jacket when he looked at Junmyeon in confusion. “You’re not coming?”

 

“Wh-what do you mean? Why would I have to go?”

 

“When Jongdae says everyone,” Kris explain, “it means everyone _except_ the younger ones. When he says ‘like, everyone’, that means _everyone._ In what part did he exclude you?”  
  
“People don’t have to say anything to let me know,” Junmyeon whispered.

 

Kris tried to come up with the perfect comeback to launch to this self-deprecating, lovely person but since time was ticking and Kris had _no_ idea what to expect, he simply grabbed Junmyeon’s wrist and pulled him towards him as he walked out of the room.

 

“If no one wants you there then they can tell me deadass to my face.”

 

***

 

“Something’s weird.” Chanyeol told Baekhyun who was currently sitting on his lap. The two of them were perched on one of the couches (well, Baekhyun was indirectly on it, but still) in the meeting room. His crutches were on the floor as a painful reminder of the pain on his foot.

 

“What’s weird?” He asked Chanyeol, trying to keep his voice to a minimum. Everyone in the building probably recognized him already as the human who imprinted on Chanyeol who also broke his foot for being a dumbass. He didn’t need any more attention on him.

 

“You can’t tell but….” Chanyeol still had his confused look on his face. “There’s a _huge_ amount of magic present. I can’t tell if there is dark energy present. I’ve never detected this amount before. I don’t know if I should feel threaten.”

 

“Are we going to die?” Baekhyun asked him.

 

“Oh, you won’t, I’ll make sure. I might, depending on the situation-“  


“Wait, why do _you_ get to die? You’re not allowed to die.” Baekhyun hissed at him.”  


“Well, I need to make sure nothing happens to you-“  


“Okay, guys, listen up!” Jongdae spoke to the whole group. Baekhyun didn’t think anyone was missing….Junmyeon came in with Kris holding his wrist (yeah that didn’t go unnoticed, haha more stuff to make fun of Junmyeon later.) Minseok came in with a worried face earlier but the good news was that Luhan was right behind them so it looked like they weren’t arguing anymore. He recognized some other people too, like that dude who was always found with a container of ramen. That guy was always arguing with another dude but he wasn’t here. He also couldn’t find the quiet dude.

 

“Okay, so the guy might here me, but it’s worth a shot. _Please_ don’t piss him off. I’m talking to you, Jihoon.”

 

“That was _one_ time-“

 

“Guys, we really need him on our side,” Jongdae whispered. “Don’t screw it.”  


“Holy shit, Jongdae, is this-“

 

“Yes, yes, Kris, I know it’s sudden, but-“  


“Wait, hold on, I thought he was supposed to come next week,” Minseok whispered back.

 

“Sehun didn’t tell me all the details but I do know there are some stuff they said they have to explain oh and I think he said more than one person is coming, I don’t know why- wait, guys, shut up okay, let them enter.” Jongdae ran to one of the doors that led to the side hallways and opened it. “Hey, come on out,” he said to the person on the other side of the door.

 

Baekhyun didn’t know what to expect but seeing a short dude as small as him wasn’t really it. However, it didn’t stop the others from gasping, Chanyeol included.

 

“Wait, who’s that,” Baekhyun asked Chanyeol. “What’s going on?”

 

“From what I can tell, they bought the witch over,” Chanyeol explained. “Sehun and Jonghyun were supposed to ask one of our friends for help and now his immobile boyfriend is standing right in front of our _eyes_ -“  


“Immobile?”  


“Yeah, some weird demon-spell that was basically wasting him away. Last thing I heard, he didn’t have enough energy to leave his house, but,” Chanyeol paused, noticing how everyone was jumping out of their seats to go hug Jimin. “Now he’s….here.” Sure enough, when everyone let go of Jimin, there was Yoongi behind him. Chanyeol has never seen him smile like that before.

 

Everyone was so focused on the couple that they almost didn’t recognized the other 3 people come in.  

 

Two of them were holding hands, but Baekhyun could only recognize one of them, he was the one who always argued with ramen dude. The guy he was holding hands with did appear to have good fashion sense, though; his hair while styled neatly and parted one way, Baekhyun was pretty sure he saw those jeans pullover on the cover of a magazine when they were in the airport the other day, and those were some _really_ nice boots.

 

Damn. Baekhyun couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous. Or envy? He forgot the difference.

 

The third guy was the quiet guy, and he was the one who spoke up next, confirming everyone’s thoughts. “So, guys, this is the witch, Kibum, and I know there’s a lot to answer, so just stay calm, okay?”  


***

 

“Do you ever get the feeling that things are _not calm_ ,” Baekhyun asked Junmyeon, the two of them sitting near the corner as they watched everyone else.

 

Everyone went ballistic when that Kibum guy (or Key but whatever) was introduced. Not only was he a really powerful witch who could practically do anything, he also imprinted on Jonghyun. Which made everyone confused. How did this optimistic dork get paired with a diva?

 

So the story was this – Sehun and Jonghyun went to ask Yoongi for help, but Yoongi pushed them to contact the witch a week early since he mentioned that Jimin had become bedridden and needed a cure for him at that instant. Sehun and Jonghyun break into witch’s house and almost get killed but then the witch Key realizes he and Jonghyun imprint so he makes them some bibimbap before asking them why they are there. Key follows the other two along with Yoongi and go Jimin’s house and Key cures him there before they all come back to Daegu. All in the span of today.

 

“Remember when we first met Kris, Luhan and Chanyeol,” Junmyeon reminded him. “That was _not_ calm at all.”

 

“Okay, now that I think of it, damn beautiful doesn’t sound right. Maybe I should of just said gorgeous,” Baekhyun jokingly replied. “Either way, they’re both true.”

 

“No one thinks that.”

 

“I can count 2 people who think that!” Baekhyun shouted. “I’m number one and guess who’s number 2? Guess Junmyeon, guess-“  


“Is it-“

 

“It’s Kris!!! Remember he said you were pretty?”  


Junmyeon just shook his head but he still couldn’t help but let out a small smile. “What does this have to do with our current situation?”  


“He was holding your wrist earlier-“

 

“Baekhyun, not now, don’t they say that that witch can hear _everything_?”

 

“He might be able to read our minds, Junmyeon, it doesn’t matter.” Baekhyun looked at his foot that was in a cast. “Chanyeol said he was going to ask him to heal my foot.”  


“Really, he’s going to ask that?”  


“They’re going to ask about the hex, but Chanyeol said he will ‘casually mention’ it. Boy, do they have a list of demands, haha.”

 

“They have to do it easy, though. But the witch said he will help us, right?’’

 

“Oh, they haven’t mentioned that part at all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im really obsessed with nct rn and yuwin memes give me life lol
> 
> will update tommorow as well so lol


	15. To-Do List (Clean ver.)

This was surprisingly…going well.

 

Even though the witch seemed to be a bit… diva-ish at first (out of every single language and their vocabulary that Kris knows, he still didn’t know how to describe him), he didn’t act rude and only spoke to answer everyone’s eager questions. How old was hey (he said he couldn’t describe time in human terms, whatever that means), all the stuff he could do (everything that he has tried, he has succeeded, as far as he knew), did that include make ramen appear at of thin air (Wonho needed to shut the fuck up), can he make people grow (why did Jihoon needed more inches? To look more terrifying? To scare the fuck out of everyone? Like he didn’t do that already) and the list went on and on and on.

 

Wow. It was no surprise he had a lot to tell, considering he was older than history itself. Unlike his clothes, which look like he bought them an hour ago.

 

Anyway.

 

“Wait, instead of making people taller, can you shrink them too? Chanyeol and Kris need to lose a couple of inches-“  


“What do I have to do with this!” Chanyeol reached over to punch Jongdae who was still laughing.

 

“I mean, like what I said with growing taller, I’ve never tried it and I wouldn’t risk it for now,” Kibum answered. “Like anyone knowing my location. I knew you guys have been looking for a long time now but I supposed there was no harm revealing it last week-“

 

“Wait,” Kris interrupted him. “You…. _purposely_ revealed it to us? How?”

 

“I mean, it’s not that hard to know people are after me,” Kibum explained. “Any higher-up witch I’m assuming can detect that. Hell, any normal person knows they are being chased after.”

 

“That’s weird,” Luhan whispered to Kris. “Did Tao ever mention anything about that? Do you think he knew along that Sehun… you know.”

 

“Zitao never really talked about what he could or his limits, though,” Kris whispered back, thankful that Sehun was not near them and he had no possible way of eaves-dropping their conversation. “But then why didn’t he see it coming?”

 

“It’s weird in the first place how they managed to kill him, though. He was immortal, and even more so, they were just human hunters that _we_ were easily able to kill as well. It doesn’t make sense.”

 

“Nothing makes sense anymore, Luhan, you should know that by now.”   


“Yeah, you turning soft is something that’s hard to see.”  


“What do you mean-“ he started to deny but then stopped when he realized that they had all directed their attention to two people nearby. Aka the newbies.

 

“Junmyeon and Baekhyun always separate themselves from others and I’m assuming that’s not going to change for a while,” Kibum pointed out.

 

“Hold up.” Chanyeol spoke up. “Did you just say….Junmyeon and Baekhyun? How do you know their names?”  


Kibum shrugged. “It’ll take a while to explain-“  


“No, you don’t understand, _how do you know their names,”_ Chanyeol repeated himself. “ _How_.”

 

Minseok was getting on the defense, too. “Don’t tell me other people know of their existence.”

 

“No, no, I just, well, how to explain this without sounding creepy-“  


“ _Creepy!?_ ”

 

“I can read minds, it’s not that big of a deal,” Kibum replied before things started turning hostile, no doubt he could probably take them all out. However, that was something that had to be prevented. “I catch some thoughts here and there and some of you guys were thinking about them, so yeah.”

 

“Damn it, I knew I should have asked that question,” Jongin replied.

 

“Whose minds,” Minseok said, “did you _exactly_ read?”

 

“If I’m going to be honest,” Kibum replied, “ _all_ of them. And yeah, I’ll help you guys, I guess. But boy, do you guys have a lengthy list.”

 

***

 

“I think I’m in love with him.”

 

“You can’t be in love with him! You haven’t imprinted yet, and doesn’t that happen when you’re much older?”  


“I  know, but…. I’m serious, I can’t stop thinking about him.”

 

“I can’t stop thinking about Changbin either but that doesn’t mean I’m in love with him.”  


“You told me he looked so handsome you just wanted to hug him all day yesterday!”

 

“That doesn’t count! Besides I was also thinking about how I wanted to drown in coffee.”

 

“That’s a mood.”

 

“Everything’s a mood nowadays.”  


“Mood.”  


“My point exactly.”

 

“I’m telling you, I’m pretty sure I’m in love with him.”

 

“You don’t even hang out with him, you just stare at him.”

 

“Because he’s so pretty! How can you not stare at him?”  


“His friend is going to kill you, you know.”  


“Love is worth dying for.”

 

“Love also makes you gross, apparently.”

 

Whines. “I can’t help it. I’m in love with him.”

 

“Okay, Lucas, you’re in love with him. Are you going to make a move?”

 

“A-a what now?”  


***

 

The knock on the door startled Minseok from where he was reading on his bed. Once he knew who it was, though, he said come in.

 

Junmyeon opened the door slightly, just enough to poke his head into the room to see what Minseok was doing. “You said you wanted to see me?”

 

“Yeah, yeah, I had something to give you,” Minseok replied, throwing his already-forgotten book aside on the bed before getting off and kneeling on the floor, reaching under the bed to pull out a box while Junmyeon walked inside the room.

 

“What are you doing?” Junmyeon asked, already resorting to stare at his fingers.

 

“Look, come here,” Minseok said, getting back on his bed with said box and took off the lid. “Did you forget what I promised you earlier?”  


“I…I don’t remember anything,” Junmyeon answered, walking over to where Minseok was sitting before sitting down next to him. “Did you promise anything today?”  


“Not today, silly. Look.” Minseok moved some items around in the box before pulling out a thick envelope and handing it to him. “This is yours.”

 

Junmyeon, confused, didn’t accept it until Minseok forcefully placed it onto his hands. “Wha-what is it?”

 

“Open it,” was the only thing Minseok said.

 

Junmyeon hesitated for a few more seconds before carefully ripping off the seal of the envelope and peering inside. It just looked like a bunch of cards.

 

He carefully dumped the contents of the envelope onto his palms before flipping through them. They appeared to be more like pictures, in fact. The picture on the very top was a young woman with a baby in her arms, not even looking at the camera as she was smiling at the baby she was cradling. There was another man beside her, giving her a half-hug as he smiled at the baby as well.

 

“Who….who are these people-wait, you… are these-“  


“I promised you pictures, did I not?” Minseok said. “That’s your mom, Hamyeon. Your father Junkwan is the man right there. Didn’t you grandparents tell you any about him?”  


“Well-“

 

“They never bothered to get close to you, right?” Minseok replied for him. “It was sort of obvious.”  


“What do you mean obvious?” Junmyeon questioned him. “It’s not like you stalked us from inside our house.”

 

“No, but they were rather cold towards you when you were younger. How did you think you got kidnapped? They didn’t bother to keep an eye on you.” Minseok sighed. “Besides, I never saw you hang out with them since you became old enough to roam the streets alone. Not that you did.”

 

“I did roam the streets!” Junmyeon shouted. “Maybe not a lot, and maybe a very limited amount of places, but-“

 

“There’s nothing wrong with it,” Minseok interjected. “I just never saw them together with you after a while.”

 

Junmyeon just shrugged. “I try not to think about it. I usually just spent my time with Baekhyun. And, well, you as well when we met you, so..”

 

“Well, anyways,” Minseok continued. “You can keep these photos. They were never mind, anyways, you dad wanted to make the typical family scrapbooks.”

 

“You know, I find it kind of weird,” Junmyeon told him. “You know more about my parents then I do.”

 

“Just ask away,” Minseok replied, getting off of the bed to stash the box where it was before. “You know what else is weird? Luhan and I have known everyone here for years but we never met each other.”

 

“Really?” Junmyeon piped up, his  voice accidently rising a  couple of octaves higher. “ _How?_ That makes no sense.”

 

“Everyone keeps saying that,” Minseok told him when the bedroom door opened. Minseok, of course, already knew who it was.

 

“Minseok?” Luhan said, entering the room before closing the door behind him. “Are you alright?”

 

“Better than ever,” Minseok said with a dead expression. “It’s not like anything’s changed.”

 

Junmyeon confused, also got off the bed, clutching the stack of photos to his chest. “I think I better leave. I need to check on Baekhyun. Probably ordering his tenth smoothie by now.”

 

“Tell me how he is later,” Minseok shouted after him, Junmyeon giving him a nod before exiting the room, leaving Minseok alone with Luhan.

 

Luhan just stared at the floor, ruffling his own hair. “Why do those two act weird with you and me together.”

 

“Probably because I never told them I had a boyfriend,” Minseok suggested. “And you do look creepy as hell.”  


“Like you don’t look like a badass, too,” Luhan muttered.

 

“Not if I have my hair down and have no eyeliner on.”

 

“It’s called duality, Minseok, look it up,” Luhan said, locking his eyes with Minseok until they both bursting out laughing.

 

“Luhan, shut up, you duality flower boy!” Minseok giggled, thinking about the time when they were on a walk in the forest and Luhan fell asleep on a flower bed despite looking “like a ganster” (Jongdae’s words.) It was one of their running jokes.

 

“Don’t call me that!” Luhan shouted, already feeling his cheeks getting flustered. “I don’t call you Baozi, anyways! You are what you eat, anyways!”

 

Minseok ignored him, laughing for a couple more seconds before wiping his face with his sleeves. “I can’t believe I’m laughing at a time like this.”

 

_The demon was of higher rank. I’m afraid it won’t be possible._

“Emotions appear at any time, Minseok,” Luhan said, walking over to where Minseok was standing before hugging him. “We’ll think of something.”

 

“That’s literally the only thing I’ve been doing!” Minseok shrieked, trying to push Luhan away in a half-hearted attempt. “I just don’t understand.”

 

_Wait, I thought you could do anything!_

_Yeah, you can make me grow tall, right? Why can’t you do that?_  
  


_I never said I can do anything. I just said what I’ve tried to do I have been able to do._

_Then try to do this!_

Luhan pulled Minseok into a hug again. “I know. I just want to get this over with so that you can have a break.”

 

“I’ll never be able to rest.” Minseok murmured before feeling a pair of lips on his necks. Luhan was giving him a kiss.

 

Minseok let him, but he started to wonder – why did it feel like they were getting closer to each other? Maybe being back in this place was making Minseok feel more comfort. He didn’t know.

 

Not that it mattered if he tried to distance himself. Luhan already knows what will happen if Minseok is triggered. All Minseok hoped was that Luhan will give him space when he asked for it.

 

The fact that he needed to ask for space is what made him cringe in the first place.

 

“Aren’t there like two or three kids who have full or half angel blood?” Luhan asked him. “Why don’t you ask them-“

 

“I’m not going to ask them. They’re kids.”

 

“But if you let them know what’s going on-“

 

“They’re not even of age, Luhan. It probably won’t work. They don’t even know how to use it.”

 

_A higher-ranked demon’s magic can only be obliterated by an angel, preferably higher-rank. I’m not sure if half-angels will work, either. I’m sorry, but-_

_We’ve been waiting a fuck ton for this! Please, you have to try it! He’s been handling it for years!_

_Look, I already struggled quite a bit with your friend Jimin. I’ll try, but I can’t guarantee anything._

_Don’t you know any angels? Can’t you summon them?_

_I mean, maybe, but you know how shitty the ones responsible for this world are. Believe it or not, an angel can kill me, so I don’t know._

_Guys, don’t pressure him. It’s fine. I can wait longer. I’ll find a solution somehow._

“I should have met you years before,” Luhan told him. “Maybe things would have gone differently.”

 

Maybe.

 

***

 

A series of “Baekhyun”s could be heard in the hallway. Kris would have ignored it, but he went out to the hallway to check only because of who was shouting.

 

Junmyeon was knocking on every door, shouting Baekhyun over and over. He didn’t notice Kris’ presence until Kris cleared his throat. Junmyeon immediately turned beet red.

 

“Is something wrong?” Kris asked him. “Are you looking for Baekhyun?”

 

“I didn’t mean to disturb you,” Junmyeon rapidly replied. “It’s just I went to Baekhyun’s room and, well, he’s not there anymore.”

 

“He’s probably in the infirmary,” Kris answered. “Kibum did say he could do something about his leg.”  


“Oh,” was the only thing Junmyeon said. “Okay then.”

 

“I can take you there if you want,” Kris said quickly, not wanting Junmyeon to leave. “It’s not that far from here.”  


“No, it’s fine, they’re probably focused right now,” Junmyeon turned down his request. “I’m just glad it’s getting treated. Baekhyun was in a lot of pain.”

 

“You know, Chanyeol never did eat the bento box.” Kris stepped out of his doorway and closed the door behind him. “He felt really embarrassed because he didn’t notice anything, so.. yeah.”  


“He didn’t eat it?” Junmyeon asked, astounded. “Wow. Baekhyun spent a lot of time making it. You know how many spoonfuls of rice I had to eat?”

 

“By the way, you never did let me try your soup,” Kris said. “The one you said you were famous for? I ate the restaurant meal and you never did let me try it.”

 

“That was literally today.” Junmyeon said. “Besides, there’s always someone in the kitchen.”  


“There’s like fifty people that are in this house at this moment. Someone is always hungry, and someone is always making food for everyone. And you do realize how big the kitchen is, right?”  


Junmyeon turned his attention to the floor. “I can’t realize just explore the place.”

 

“Well then, why don’t we explore this together?” Kris suggested. “I may be old, but I believe that you always discover something new every day.”

 

Junmyeon couldn’t help but smile at that. “You’re very wise, you know that?”  


“Comes with the age.” Kris smirked at Junmyeon’s comment. He reached out his hand for Junmyeon to grab. “Where do you want to go, first?”

 

Junmyeon hesitated for a few seconds before slowly reaching out his hand as well. “Maybe outside? I think I should know those surroundings first.”

 

Kris laced their fingers together and led Junmyeon to the nearest staircase, walking slowly to make sure nothing goes rushed. “There is a place I like that’s completely covered by trees. I have a feeling you’ll like it, too.”

 

“Why, because I live in a forest?” Junmyeon joked. His smile just kept getting bigger. “At least I didn’t live underground.”  


“I’ve lived in a wide variety of locations and settings, you know.” Kris led them down the flight of stairs. “I’m just missing the moon and I’m all set.”

 

“That’s nice.” Junmyeon was mentally thankful that they were only on the second floor. As far as he known, the place had at least five or something. “I’ve always wanted to travel and explore, but not to see touristy spots, you know? I feel like you aren’t actually experiencing what it is to live there.”

 

“I can take you somewhere one day,” Kris said. “I mean, like a trip, like it’ll be nice to go somewhere for a while. Like I want to visit Shanghai, I haven’t been there in a while.”

 

“Oh, well,” Junmyeon knew some stuff about Shanghai but only from what he’s read or seen online. He’s never met someone who’s been there. “That’s cool. I should probably learn some more Chinese, though.”

 

“Oh, Chinese is really cool,” Kris exclaimed excitingly. “Although it’s changed over the centuries, it’s still a lovely language.” Kris stopped himself before he started rambling.

 

“Wǒ ài nǐ,” Junmyeon replied, making Kris stop in his tracks. Did he just-

 

Wow. Kris is getting old. He’s becoming deaf now.

 

He turned around to face Junmyeon, eyes wide. He still didn’t let go of his grip on Junmyeon, though; rather, he clutched it tighter. “What did you just say?”  


“I-I don’t get it, doesn’t it mean cool it Chinese?” Aware that he probably said something offensive, he turned to stare at the floor for what had to be the umpteenth time that hour. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it! Please, sorry.”  


“No, no, it’s just…” sigh. He didn’t know if it was a good or bad thing. Why did he feel so disappointed, though? “Who’s been teaching you Chinese, anyways?”

 

“Oh, Baekhyun was reading earlier and told me that’s wh- oh, I see.” Junmyeon sighed as well, thinking why the hell did he think he could trust Baekhyun. “Or maybe I said the tones wrong? Or he did? I don’t know, sorry.”

 

“I think it’ll be better if I teach you Chinese, instead,” Kris offered, only earning a nod from Junmyeon.

 

They were silent for the rest of the way. Kris led him outside and they went to one of the areas full of clusters of trees.

 

When he caught sight of what he was looking for, Kris spoke up to break the awkward silence they had brought upon themselves. “Look.”

 

It was a willow tree. Just a massive willow tree in the middle of all these oak trees. The leaves and branches were so long, you couldn’t even see what was inside.

 

Junmyeon stared at the tree, mouth wide open in astonishment. He’s never seen a willow tree before, heck, he didn’t even know if they existed in Korea.

 

The tree looked really fragile. Junmyeon reached over to grab one of the leaves with his free hands and touched it tenderly, feeling how soft it was. It really did feel like a curtain.

 

“I love it,” he whispered under his breath.

 

Kris smiled. “Go inside, there’s nothing in there that going to kill you,” he teased.

 

Junmyeon felt the need to reply with _wouldn’t be the first time_ but, not wanting to ruin the moment, he stepped inside the tree, pushing away the leaves to make it easier.

 

The space inside was pretty big. It looked really clean as if it were being maintained well. (Did make sense since Kris said it was his favorite spot or something.) He walked around the tree bark, not looking for anything in particular, just admiring.

 

Kris let himself be pulled by Junmyeon, the other probably forgetting his presence. He didn’t mind. It was nice watching Junmyeon being so focused on something. He watched as the other looked around, his stunning eyes moving in circles as Junmyeon tried to view everything around him, as his fingers holding Kris curled more like he didn’t want to lose his group, as his pink smooth lips puckered here and there-

 

Suddenly, he pulled his hand away from Junmyeon, startling the other.

 

“Kr-Kris, what-“ he didn’t let Junmyeon finish his sentence as he raced out of the tree space, Junmyeon not able to see where he ran off to due to the leaves.

 

“Kris?” He shouted, wondering if it was a prank or not. Was this planned? What could Kris possibly be-

 

Kris ran back inside and grabbed Junmyeon’s wrist. “Junmyeon, you have to get out of here.”  


“What?! What do- Kris, what is going on- Kris!” Junmyeon shouted as Kris was making them run back to the door into the mansion.

 

“Go! Go inside Junmyeon, please!” Kris turned around and was about to run off when Junmyeon grabbed his wrist to stop him.

 

“Kris, what are you doing-“  


“Junmyeon.” Kris grabbed both of Junmyeon’s shoulders as to keep him in place. “Look, I’m sorry Junmyeon, I really did want to spend time with you today, but please go inside, you’re going to get hurt.”  


“Hu-hurt from what?”  


“There’s people on our territory again and they’re trying to take us down again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NCT CHINA ABOUT TO DEBUT YOLO
> 
> the shirt controversy with bts :C
> 
> EXO TEMPO YOLO


	16. Live Action

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tempo is lit i love that song
> 
> still waiting for nct china

“Luhan, something’s wrong.” Luhan turned his head around to face Chanyeol, who was standing in the doorway out of breath. He looked like he just ran a marathon or something, looking just as frazzled when he was chasing the car that kidnapped Baekhyun that one time. The fact that it was recent didn’t make Luhan feel any better.

 

“What, what happened?” Luhan asked him, voiced kept down in a whisper in order not to wake up an exhausted Minseok. “What’s going on?”

 

“I was outside with Baekhyun and some of the kids and I sensed them.” Chanyeol was become increasingly fidgety. “I rushed them all back in, but Kris is outside with Junmyeon, too. And I pretty sure Jongin went out with Kyungsoo. Please, you got to help me.”

 

“Where are the others?” Luhan whisper-shouted to him, putting on his Adidas sneakers on without socks on before hastily grabbing the vial he always kept on his desk and rushing out the door with Chanyeol. “Where’s Jihoon and Wonho? And didn’t Yixing had some of the kids with him around the barrier as well? Where are there?”

 

They were walking in full speed now, running down the stairs before opening through the secretive double doors in that wing of the mansion. “Yixing’s not answering his phone, and Wonho went to the city with Kihyun and Seungkwan. Jihoon’s with Sehun and Jongdae but I don’t know where they are either-“

 

“Dammit!” Luhan screamed just as he and Chanyeol bumped into a very-pissed Kris and a confused Junmyeon.

 

Kris was having none of it today. “Why the fuck are people trying to break in here? They don’t even know of this location!”

 

“I don’t know, I just felt the barrier break,” Chanyeol explained. “It’s not the first time, either! What about that Haechan kid that got injured from that one vampire?”

 

“I have a feeling that this is the same group,” Luhan said until they saw a group of guys running towards them.

 

Kris pushed Junmyeon towards Chanyeol who caught him with ease. “Take Junmyeon to stay with Baekhyun and keep an eye on them. Don’t leave them alone.”

 

Chanyeol gave him a nod, pulling a scared Junmyeon and was about to leave until they were caught up with four other people.

 

It was Vernon, Seongcheol, Jonghyun, and Kibum. Kibum was the first to speak up. “They’re five people near the east side. They’re still in the forest but they caught side of the building.”

 

“Some of them are downtown,” Seongcheol added, panic evident in his voice. “Like 5 to 10, I don’t know, Jihoon said they keep following him and the others.”

 

“Fuck,” Kris muttered under his breath. “Okay, Vernon, go to the bright weaponry and use the Bái huījìn. Seongcheol, go into the city to find Jihoon and contact Jin and his crew to meet you guys there, I’m pretty sure they’re still here in the city.”

 

“Oh, that reminds me!” Jonghyun exclaimed. He reached into fraying jacket’s pocket and pulled out two silver chains; they were the protection crosses he and Sehun were wearing earlier before he met the love of his life. “Make sure Baekhhyun and Junmyeon wear them and not to take it off.”

 

Chanyeol took the chains and gave him a nod. “Guys, be careful, ok?”

 

That was the last thing on everyone’s mind, too busy from wanting to protect each other.

***

Kris was pissed.

 

Did these fucking fuck-ups thought that now was the perfect time to fuck up his date? He thinks the fuck not. These fuckers got a fuckin thing coming for them.

 

Was it a date? Yes. No one argue with him. So many times he’s been hanging out with Junmyeon, it was fantastic. And now he got to hold his hand for a full five minutes? Marvelous. Amazing. They were the softest hands he’s ever felt. Except that one old women in Mongolia 1843, when he was attending the villagers who got injured. But she had a skin issue so that doesn’t count. Increased production of a protein in her skin. And great exfoliation techniques.

 

Whatever, Junmyeon had the softest hands imaginable. How Kris wished he could just hold them whenever he wants and be able to hold them while browsing at Bath and Body works for a birthday present for Junmyeon. His soft hands. So soft.

 

Well, now he isn’t even looking at Junmyeon because Kris would prefer him staying safe with his trusted friends than being involved in whatever this was. Not that they couldn’t handle it, but Junmyeon and Baekhyun were mortals, they could suffer something. Junmyeon getting his soft hands injured? Not on his watch.

 

He may have developed a kink for hands, now, but he’ll deal with that latter. Like if it were any weirder with boyfriends cross dressing or doing dirty dancing. Or wet hair. Yeah, he was going to have to avoid Junmyeon with wet hair, that turned him wild.

 

Yeah, well, he could’ve been thinking all about this peacefully while hanging out with Junmyeon but now he was running towards the east side of the mansion with Jonghyun and Kibum in order to kill some fuck ups.

 

He had asked Luhan whether he wanted Minseok to be involved or not, and Luhan had said he didn’t want him to but he was probably going to find out anyways. And now it was just them three. And no Junmyeon.

 

He may have developed a crush on the most perfect man in the whole world. Why he confirms this after thinking about hands and kinks, who knows.

 

But anyways.

 

“So glad I put that spell on you, earlier,” Kibum said, interrupting Kris and his thoughts, for which he was thankful for because he was either going to imagine dowsing those fuckers in acid or himself fucking Junmyeon. Yeah, what was he, 159 years old? “Since we’re bonded, it’s even stronger.”

 

“Are you saying that you have no faith in me?” Jonghyun replied. “I’m supposed to be protecting you, not the other way.”

 

“Honey, I’m older than humanity’s existence, my glossy hair and nails don’t mean I’m a helpless creature,” Kibum replied.

 

“I don’t care, age has nothing to do with it,” Jonghyun argued.

 

“So I know everyone got carried away with stupid questions earlier,” Kris said to diva. “But you set up better wards afterwards? I know it’s too much work, but-“

 

“Yeah, yeah, safety’s the most important issue, I get it,” Kibum waved him off. “But I really have to make that Jihoon guy taller? Him and Kyungsoo creep everyone the hell out.”

 

“Kyungsoo is a softie!” Jonghyun said. “And Woozi just creeps everyone out, it’s no big deal.”

 

Suddenly, Jonghyun and Kris were being held back by Kibum, who just shushes them. “They’ll come out of the forest in 10 seconds, except one who is heading towards the north side of the house trying to enter.”

 

“Fuck, alert Luhan, let him know someone’s trying to come in.” Kris asked, considering he didn’t have his cell phone with him. Damn, why did people hate Gen Z kids that much for not having one, it could save someone’s life! Particularly Junmyeon’s life!

 

“Don’t worry, I sent him a telepathic message, scared the wits out of him for a few seconds,” Kibum reassured him. “And can you stop thinking about Junmyeon and his hands, that’s scaring me.”

 

“Mind your own business, gossip queen!” Kris whispered as soon as he saw the promised four men come out of the forest. Huh. Guess Kibum was right.

 

The thing was, everyone who resided in that place can feel if the barrier has been broken, even if it was a small area. Of course, they can’t detect people from that far, but the barrier awareness thing was something Zitao added years ago so that they could all be alert. Sure, they didn’t need it there when he was with him, but then he passed away so…

 

“Hold onto me,” Kibum whispered, and Kris was wondering what the fuck before he felt the ground shake and held onto the witch in a flash.

 

Kibum didn’t seem bothered, though. He just kept staring at the men in front of them who were two busy falling towards the floor to notice Kibum.

 

Kris had to admit, that was pretty cool.

 

While he and Jonghyun were desperately trying to clutch on the floor to prevent their world from spinning after the ground stopped shaking, Kibum calmly walked towards the four men twitching on the ground and kneel towards one of them.

 

The dizzy guy looked up at him, confused, in which Kibum responded by giving him a smile. He wrapped both of his hands around the guy, calmly, and gave it a sudden jerk to the right, the sound of bones cracking lasting for an instant.

 

By then, the other three guys got up and were about to lounge onto Kibum, but one of them was met by an angry Jonghyun on his back, who kept biting his neck until the guy’s clothes starting dripping with blood, his howls piercing the air for mere seconds before limping to the ground.

 

Kibum grabbed one guy’s arm and twisted it twice around the guy’s body, his screams not lasting a second as Kibum had silenced him. He didn’t last long either.

 

Kris quickly snapped the neck of his victim before staring at Jonghyun and Kibum in front of them. Normal, unexperienced paranormal creatures were no match for them.

 

Then how did they get through the barrier?

***

Baekhyun was silent between Chanyeol and Junmyeon.

 

They were in some underground room with some of the teens. Like three of them were tall boys and made Baekhyun feel inferior. Not that it mattered because they were all sitting on the floor.

 

They were all silent until one of them spoke up. “This is stupid, why are we in here?”

 

“Because I don’t want to die, Johnny, stop it with your evaluations,” Taeil(?) said to him.

 

“What are you going to do now, give a fashion evaluation, too? ‘Ugly face, Jaehyun, 0 out of 10.’”

 

“Said the words right out of my mouth,” Johnny replied.

 

“Jisung, can you pass me the pillow,” one dressed in all black said. He was responded with two different guys giving him a pillow. “Shit, I meant Han, not Park.”

 

“Language, Changbin,” another said.

 

“What are you, my mom? The omnipotent mother Chan? Tell me, when’s my bedtime again?”

 

“The way they fight gives me hope for humanity,” Baekhyun whispered to Junmyeon, who was starting to drift asleep.

 

“You got to be more specific,” Junmyeon asked. “How, exactly?”

 

“Love friendships where you roast each other,” Baekhyun concluded. “Although you have a beautiful face, I would never make fun of that.”

 

“I, however, will continue to call you stupid, considering how clearly I don’t have a beautiful face,” Junmyeon disagreed.

 

“He’s not stupid, he’s one of the smartest people I know!” Chanyeol exclaimed.

 

“Chanyeol, stop taking everyone insult between me and him so seriously,” Baekhyun whispered to him. “It’s fine, just remind him of who said ‘damn beautiful’.”

 

“Oh, yeah, Kris can’t flirt at all,” Chanyeol agreed. “But weren’t you the one who said ‘don’t you think my friend is dam-‘”

 

“Details aren’t necessary.” Baekhyun shrugged his shoulders. “He didn’t have to repeat me, anyways, If one of your friends jumped off a cliff, would you join?”

 

“First of all, we’ve all jumped from cliffs,” Chanyeol said. “And did I not tell you about Luhan’s motorcycle stunt? He has some serious tempo you shouldn’t mess with.”

 

Baekhyun pouted, already grabbing onto Chanyeol’s arm. “You need to be more careful, Chanyeol, I don’t want to see you hurt.”

 

“You safety is my top priority,” Chanyeol said. “But don’t worry, I don’t plan on dying yet. I still have a ton of stuff I want to do with you.”

 

“Like go on a double date with someone, uh-hem, Junmyeon,” Baekhyun agreed.

 

Junmyeon threw his hands up in the air. “Baekhyun, what did I tell you about your unhealthy obsessions?”

 

“Kris is probably going to take a few more days to finally admit he’s in love with, since he likes to deny everything” Chanyeol shrugged. “He may have had his boyfriends, but he’s still a useless gay.”

 

“That term is for lesbians, Chanyeol, and I’m pretty sure everyone in here is gay,” Baekhyun replied.

 

Junmyeon tried to ignore them. He tried to think about earlier with Kris. It was so much fun, even though it lasted for five minutes. But still! He wanted to hang out under the willow tree again. Maybe hold on to Kris’ hands for a little longer. Maybe….

 

But then people trying to kill them had to ruin everything again.

 

That was twice now No, three? Twice that they’ve entered the barrier, three times Junmyeon had been in a dangerous situation. And he didn’t imagine himself locked inside a room with a group of teens already arguing about how long some Jeno and Jaemin were going to confess next to another his friend planning a double-date-voyage to Europe or something.

 

Junmyeon would have preferred Shanghai.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't add other ships in the tags because they're not the main focus, and I hate it when people add them when they only make appearances like 6 percent of the time so
> 
> anyways anyone know a website where you give them a pdf and they turn it into a physical book that you can keep? because I want this krisho fanfic on my bookshelf. i still need a good yuwin fanfic, although i did find a nice jaeyong one
> 
> someone in Halo (listen to Mariya and Here, Here, i love those songs) is named jaeyong! It's so funny lol 
> 
> i need to rant to someone


	17. Surrounded

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> does anyone want any trigger warnings for violence? I probably should have asked that earlier in the story but there is the violence tag, as for the other tag that i know you guys all like, patience my friend

He had to leave.

 

He didn’t know what he was doing. Where he would go. All he knew was that he had to leave. Before things got worse.

 

He could sense Luhan running down the hall, probably towards him, so now Minseok couldn’t run. That would be suspicious if your mate was running away from you. Yeah, Minseok couldn’t do that.

 

He jumped off of the bed as soon as he heard the doorknob rattle, already on his feet when Luhan pushed the door open.

 

“You’re awake,” Luhan commented.

 

“Sorry I took so long, you know…” Minseok trailed off. Luhan didn’t know about that.

 

“Don’t worry about it, I know you have some issues.” Luhan closed the door behind him and bent down to check under the bed, pulling out his black bag. “Look, do you want to be away from the fight or do you want to help others?”

 

“Luhan, I have to leave.” Minseok went to the night stand and started rummaging around. “Luhan, where’s the vial, where’d it go?!” His hands were shaking as his voice became more desperate, pushing things off the nightstand, making them fall to the floor.

 

“Minseok, no.” He got up from the floor, throwing the black bag onto the bed. He went to the closet and pulled out the carved sandalwood box he kept hidden on the top shelf. “You can’t use it, not now-“

 

“You don’t know the situation, please, Luhan, I need it, they-“ Luhan turned around as they were both interrupted by a shattering sound. Minseok had accidently knocked the lamp of the stand.

 

“Fuck, we need to leave.” He hastily shoved the box into his black bag and grabbed Minseok’s arm. “Come on, I know we’re we can go-“

 

“I can’t go through the barrier,” Minseok interrupted him. “There must be people on the other side, they aren’t that stupid.”

 

“Minseok, come on, we have to-“ Luhan stopped. “Minseok, your feet, they’re bleeding!”

 

“It’s from the lamp, don’t worry about it.” Minseok had been barefoot this entire time. “I’ll tend it later-“

 

“Fuck, here.” He went to the bathroom, despite Minseok’s protests, and come back with bandages. He pushed Minseok onto the bed and grabbed his right foot, desperately wiping as much blood as he could before hastily wrapping it with the bandages. He did the same to his left foot  as well while Minseok kept shouting at him to ignore it and to just give him the vial.

 

Luhan did stop. But not because of Minseok. That’s because he heard a voice in his heard to hurry up and go to the front entrance. 

 

What the _fuck?!_ That wasn’t the plan! He knew a secret out of the barrier in the forest that no one except him could enter. That’s what the sandalwood box was for. Damn, what a time to start going psychotic!

 

_Look, we can argue about you psychoticness another time but just go to the north entrance already someone’s trying to go in stupid!_

 

The _hell?_ Luhan was going crazy. He’s going to die, now. Good-bye, world. Oh well. If he’s going to die, anyways, might as well take Minseok to safety-

 

_Go you dumb bitch hurry up! I didn’t come here to help you die! Now go out and deal with the intruder! I’m a little bit busy here with Jonghyun and Kris at the moment-_

Wait, was that….Kibum? The witch? Was he speaking to him?

 

_Wow, Minseok’s so lucky to date someone as smart as you. Now hurry up asshole!_

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Minseok had wrapped the rest of the bandages and put on some tennis shoes when Luhan got up from him. However, he didn’t know why Luhan had such a pained expression on. “Luhan?”

 

“There’s someone in the building,” Luhan whispered. Minseok’s eyes went wide.

 

“They’re _in?_ What happened to Kris and Jonghyun and-“

 

“Minseok, we have to go NOW.” Without another word, Luhan grabbed Minseok’s arm and led him out the door, running downstairs to go to the North entrance as the witch kept giving him orders inside his useless head.

 

Minseok usually didn’t act this frantic. He was always calm, collected, thinking rationally about what to do next. But _this?_ It’s been getting worse like this since like 3 months. However, usually something had to trigger him. But what?

 

The demon blood in him was making him become worse and worse. Minseok knew the risks of taking the vial’s contents but he was still trying to risk it anyways. This wasn’t good. Not good at all.

 

The vial was something Luhan has collected years before, decades, centuries before. _Tiānshǐ de jiānruì xiěyè._ The angel’s sharp blood.

 

One of the most powerful things in existence. It could put anyone in it’s place, either by cleansing, murder, obedience, the list goes on. Extracted from an angel back during ancient China by a secretive group of people, an unlucky angel who, in all it’s power, had been captured by a small group of humans and were in their possession.

 

Luhan got ahold of it in Malaysia a few decades ago, when they were fighting some Thai demons that migrated there. It’s presence can’t be detected by anyone. Not even Zitao could detect it himself when he was still alive.

 

As they were running towards the entrance, Luhan could only think about what would happen if Minseok drank its contents.

 

When Luhan sensed the guy running through the hallways, probably looking for who to attack, Minseok was become increasingly fidgety. This wasn’t good.

 

Tossing his bag to Minseok, who barely managed to catch it, Luhan spoke up. “Stay here, I’ll deal with him.”

 

Minseok frowned. “Let me guess. You don’t want me to get hurt.”

 

“Clearly, you aren’t in a state of mind, so just let me handle it, okay?!” Luhan pinned Minseok against the wall, knowing full well Minseok was capable of beating the wits out of him anyways. “You’re acting weird, and I know you don’t want to tell me, so just let me get the guy, okay? Kibum is somehow sending me telepathic messages to my head so that’s where I know where he is.”

 

Minseok’s face fell. “Zitao used to be able to do that, too,” he muttered under his breath.

 

Shit, Minseok, was _totally_ not in his right mind right now.

 

Luhan caught sight of the guy running in the hallways, but the thing was this guy had a long sword as well. _Shit._ Luhan couldn’t do hand-to-hand combat. He tried to grab the black bag from Minseok, the two of them fumbling for the zipper, but it was no use. The guy caught sight of them.

 

Luhan pulled out his Gōrudensureiyā, the _Golden Slayer,_ out of his bag, tracing the characters _ゴールデンスレイヤー_ on the handle for a quick second before pulling it out, just in time when the guy was already 5 feet in front of him, aiming his own sword towards Luhan’s chest.

 

Not that he managed to pierce it, though. His sword clattered to the side just as soon as Luhan was sprayed with blood coming from the man’s mouth, a sword that wasn’t Luhan’s struck in the middle of his chest.  The sword came from behind the guy.

 

The sword was pulled out, and the guy stood for one second before falling to the ground, a loud noise being emitted when his cranium hit the ground. There standing in his place was Vernon, wielding theBái huījìn, _White Ashes,_ in his own hand, the Chinese characters _白灰烬_ in clear sight.

 

“Oh, hey guys,” Vernon replied. “I was on my way to go outside but I sensed this guy first, thought I should take him out at the very least.”

 

“Thanks, Vernon,” Minseok replied. “That guy almost killed Luhan.”

 

“I already had my sword out, I wasn’t going to die!” Luhan crossed his arms across his chest, sword long forgotten as it clattered to the floor. “I had the situation under control.”

 

“Yeah, Minseok, remember Luhan and the motorcycle stunt? He won’t die that easi-“

 

“STOP REMINDING ME ABOUT THE MOTORCYCLE!”

 

***  


“Sorry you guys had to be stuck in there for so long,” Minseok lamented to Baekhyun and Junmyeon, who were coming out of the safe room along with the other teens. “I didn’t even know what was going on.”

 

“Nah, it’s fine, don’t worry about it.” Baekhyun let out a yawn, stretching his arms high into the air and accidently smacking Chanyeol, since he was being carried by the latter. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!”

 

“Sorry, Baekhyun, I was in the way!” Chanyeol shouted back.

 

“Can you guys, like, stop apologizing, I thought you were cool,” one of the kids shouted.

 

“Shut up, Renjun!” Chanyeol shouted to him instead.

 

“Don’t say that to my babies!” Minseok slapped Chanyeol’s arm, already turning bright red from the stinging pain. “

 

“That’s why you and Luhan won’t fuck, you already have, like, thirty babies!” Chanyeol started laughing at the bright-red Minseok, but it only lasted for a second since Chanyeol started howling from pain again from another slap. 

 

“Stop it, Minseok, you’re hurting him!” Baekhyun wrapped his arms around Chanyeol’s shoulders instead of his neck and readjusted his position a little to give Chanyeol a hug. “Are you okay, baby?”

 

“Don’t worry, my love,” Chanyeol replied, giving a small peck to Baekhyun’s forehead.

 

Junmyeon just shook his head. You couldn’t tease one of them without offending the other.

 

“Since the intruders are gone, you guys can, like, go back to your room and f-“

 

“Renjun, I’ll see you later, okay? I promised to show you the stabbing techniques, remember?”

 

“Oh, yeah, Minseok! See you later!” With that, the red-headed kid left, with Chanyeol letting out a sigh.

 

“Do you, like, _have_ to show them that?” Chanyeol asked Minseok. “It’s not like you’re going to let them into combat anyways, you’re just giving them a chance to murder me in my sleep!”

 

“Just because I don’t want them to get involved in danger doesn’t mean I don’t want them to be able to defend themselves, Chanyeol.” Minseok walked towards Woojin, the last kid still in the room. “Hey, Woojin, can I talk to you and Minho, later? It’s about the thing you guys discussed.”

 

Woojin let out a huge grin, his teeth making an appearance. “Is it a yes? I thought you guys wouldn’t let us because of, you know, the incident right now-“

 

“Well, that’s true,” Minseok agreed. “But I was thinking about each one of us handling a small group? Everyone thought that was the best idea.”

 

Woojin gave Minseok a hug. “Thanks, Minseok! You’re the best, I’ll tell Minho now!” With that, Woojin left the room.

 

“What was that about,” Junmyeon asked. Minseok turned to face him and gave him a grin.

 

“They want to go to an amusement park, so..” Minseok shrugged. “I haven’t been to one, either, so it’ll be fun.”

 

“Dang, I would kill to be able to ride a roller coaster right now,” Baekhyun murmured, his voice concealed since his head buried in Chanyeol’s chest. He lifted his head up, though, when he thought of an idea. “I know! That’s where we can have a double-no, triple date!”

 

Junmyeon was glad he wasn’t drinking, because he choked so bad he would have drown with a liquid in his mouth. He knew  where Baekhyun was going.

 

He also didn’t expected Baekhyun’s next comment but he was not surprised. “Haha, you’re going to choke like that, afterwards, too-“

 

“What do you mean triple date?” Minseok, a little bit confused. “Who’s going on the date?”

 

“Obviously you and Luhan, me and Chanyeol, and Junmyeon and Kris,” Baekhyun answered matter-of-factly. “That would be perfect! I haven’t been to an amusement park in so long!”

 

Minseok frowned. “I know Kris isn’t seeing Junmyeon.”

 

“Yeah but they were on a date earlier,” Baekhyun explained. “Right before the bad people came. They were outside-“

 

“That wasn’t a date, and I’m not seeing him,” Junmyeon argued. “I don’t even see him in that way.”

 

“Can you, like, make up your mind, already, you guys were arguing about his in the room earlier-“

 

“RENJUN!” All four of them screamed at the red head who was present again.

 

“Sorry, sorry! I came back for my hidden dagger, it fell out of my pocket!” Renjun searched around the room and found said dagger before stuffing it in his pocket. “By stabbing, does that include long swords too? I saw Luhan with one outside and it looked cool-“

 

“Yeah, from all weights and sizes,” Minseok replied. “Don’t worry about it.”

 

“Thanks!” Renjun left for the second time, skipping out the room and into the hall, where he shouted for Haechan to wait for him.

 

“They’re so cute,” Baekhyun commented, forgetting about his get-Junmyeon-his-man plan. “So vicious and sweet. I don’t know how that’s possible.”

 

“There are some real uwus too,” Minseok agreed. “I know some of them are older than me but I consider all of them my children. Or at the very least, they’re guardian.”

 

“Don’t let Taeyong, Kun, and Chan hear you, they’ll get triggered,” Chanyeol warned him.

 

“They are really cute!” Junmyeon smiled. “One of them, Jisung, told me about his crush, and he was flustering-“

 

“Jisung? JISUNG?!” Minseok grabbed Junmyeon and dragged him towards him. “Who is it, who is it?!”

 

“We aren’t snitches, Minseok, sorry,” Baekhyun said. “He just told us two. We won’t expose him.”

 

“You keep talking about shipping me and Kris out loud in public, though!” Junmyeon shouted right when said male walked in the room.

 

Kris had been looking for Junmyeon for a while and Luhan told him he was in there. “What about me and you?” Kris asked Junmyeon, only receiving a blush and a soft ‘nothing’ in response.

 

“Can you just tell me _please?_ I’m all for respecting my non-biological-children and their privacy, but this is for one of them, they like Jisung and they want to know if he likes them back!”

 

“I can only give you a letter,” Baekhyun said. “Since I promised him. Also lowkey want to know if they are whipped for each other and just to innocent to notice.”

 

“Jisung does look innocent,” Junmyeon commented.

 

“Starts with a C,” was all Baekhyun said.

 

“Oh my gosh, I _knew_ it!! HA! He didn’t believe me!” Minseok reached out to give Junmyeon a hug. “He’s going to be so happy-“

 

“You can’t tell him, though,” Baekhyun reminded him. “Just do the cliché ‘hey you guys busy on this date? No? Well I am enjoy your date’, it should work with those two.”

 

“Wait, I know, like, 3 guys who start with a C,” Chanyeol reminded them. “4, not including me.”

 

Minseok’s face fell, but then twisted in confusion. “I’m pretty sure Changbin only likes Felix, Woojin told me himself, and Chan isn’t interested in the moment.”

 

“Those two were in the room with us though,” Junmyeon declared. “So that would be dumb to talk about your crush in front DON’T DO IT BAEKHYUN-“

 

“Hey, Kris that reminded me,” Baekhyun asked him. “Are you busy tomorrow?”

 

Kris, confused, replied, “yeah, I have to go to Ilsan in the morning and talk about the incident earlier, I need some documents and stuff.”

 

“Shit, there went my cliché,” Baekhyun merely said.

 

"Kris, they were taking about you-"  
  


"RENJUN!!" 

***

 

The room was in silence.

 

Most of them were present. Kris. Luhan. Minseok. Chanyeol. Wonho. Jihoon. Vernon. Seongcheol. Seungkwan. Jonghyun. Kibum. Yoongi. Shownu. A few weren’t there; Sehun was gone, stating he needed to be somewhere. Jimin, Jongdae, and Yixing were with Renjun and some other kids, finishing the stabbing lesson. Yoongi wanted to be with his boyfriend, but Jimin told him he was going to take it seriously. Others, like Kyungsoo and Jongin, were downtown trying to talk to strays and other strongholds to ask what the fuck was going on.

 

Junmyeon and Baekhyun weren’t there, either. Baekhyun didn’t want to move too much, anyways, and somehow denied Kibum’s offer to fix his leg, saying there were other stuff he should focus on and that he could handle it. Junmyeon didn’t want to Baekhyun to be alone and said he wasn’t going to understand anything anyways.

 

Maybe Junmyeon was right but Kris was still sad he wasn’t there.

 

They stayed silent, all still in quite a shock. But it didn’t last long.

 

“So, are we just going to sit here and be miserable, or what?” Jihoon asked.

 

“Can you not,” Seungkwan tried to shut him up. “Bold of you to assume I wasn’t miserable before.”

 

“I want my ramen,” Wonho stated.

 

“Kris you’re the leader, what do we do?” Shownu, probably the only sane person right now, asked.

 

Kris just clasped his hands and thought for a minute. In all his years of living, he’s never experienced a barrier breaking. Usually, someone from the group would betray them and let it down, but from what Kibum told him, no one present had those intentions. Kris was glad, of course, that no one was a betraying, but it still made him uneasy not knowing what was going on.

 

“I think I’m going to head to Taiwan to the place in Taipei,” Kris admitted. “Daniel and Minhyun announced a dilemma overthere and they recognized one of the intruders. The origins might be from there.”

 

“Who’s going?” Luhan asked him. “And who’s staying? We’re in a complicated situation over here.”

 

“Why, about the two humans?” Yoongi asked him. “They should probably stay, but we need someone sane to be with them-“

 

“I’m going where they’re going,” Minseok spoke up. “If they stay, then so am I.”

 

“Minseok, I-“ Luhan stopped himself, remembering his and Minseok’s fight from when they first arrived. Yeah, not a good idea. “I’ll stay, too.”

 

“I’ll go,” Seungkwan said. “I promised to help Minghao and Junhui about something, and they’re currently in Taiwan.”

 

“I’ll go, too,” Vernon said.

 

“Half of you guys want me to stay, half don’t,” Kibum said. “You guys need to vote.”

 

They all mentally cursed themselves. They totally forgot about Jonghyun and his boyfriend’s mind-reading powers.

 

At the end, it was decided who would stay and go. Kibum was sent to stay in case of any future attacks. Chanyeol was to stay because of his injured boyfriend. All of the others stayed or went due to which side needed more people.

 

This was going to be tough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have firetruck stuck on my head
> 
> WHY IS NO ONE TALKING ABOUT SIMON SAYS
> 
> also guys listen to exo damage it's lit


	18. Not Like It Mattered Anyways

For the next two weeks, like went a bit like a blur for Junmyeon.

 

There was so much going on and so much stuff to do, but it all due respect, it was actually…. Enjoyable. Or at least, not what he had pictured in the beginning.

 

When you bring up the idea of vampires and werewolves and demons, his first thought as always been those horror movies that he and Baekhyun would always watch. Old, ancient language. Terrorizing faces. Death, blood, bad guys everywhere. A black and white appearance. Usually Junmyeon would imagine something gothic or emo, but he never expected…..

 

Jumping on a trampoline with 6 other guys.

 

Some of the younger kids in the stronghold had taken a liking to him, for reasons that haven’t been confirmed to Junmyeon. Minseok had mentioned that it was because Junmyeon made the environment much more positive and likeable, stating that Junmyeon didn’t appear to come off as mean and looked like he would aid anyone in need. All in all, Junmyeon was such a good presence to have around.

 

He tried to think back to his interactions with the younger ones. (Although not technically younger, has some have already been like this since way before Junmyeon was born.) Although he hasn’t had a bad run-it with anyone, he can’t remember anything specific that he has done to make anyone happy-

 

Oh, wait. It must be that time 8 days ago when he made lunch and dessert for some of them. Junmyeon did make his famous Thai curry soup which everyone seemed to enjoy; he made two sets, a milder one and a spicier one in case anyone objected, but no one complained and just devoured the soup in 5 minutes. Some of the kids made comments about one of the kids being Thai, saying “isn’t this from your place?” The guy’s name was like 8 or something, Junmyeon didn’t know. He wasn’t going to memorize 30+ people in a week. However, he did memorize Kris’ smile when he finally got the soup that Junmyeon promised him.

 

Dessert was even crazier. Junmyeon made homemade vanilla ice cream and combined it with crushed oreas, dipping scoops of it into a chocolate dip and adorning it with peanuts and sprinkles before letting them freeze. The kids went ballistic, and it made Junmyeon wonder that if they stopped maturing along with aging. Not that it mattered anyways, because Baekhyun was one of the crazy people who ate like ten of them. Junmyeon made a comments of “getting cravings so soon” and in return now he has a bruise on his arm.

 

And now he was on a trampoline. Although he couldn’t remember some of the names, he does know how these kids are and remembers his interactions with them. There were these two guys that always made innuendos around their friends (although he thinks some of them were; he didn’t know what conations lemon detox had with anything but he wasn’t going to ask anyone; how would you give anyone whiplash anyways?). Another guy was constantly referred to as a grandpa, probably because they made fun of his clothes. Junmyeon only remembers the names of the other three: the other Jisung (not the one he talked to the other week), knife-obsessed Renjun and the tall Australian Felix. Or Yongbok? He forgot.

 

Point was, he was on a trampoline with them. Although he stayed clinging on the sides and only jumping a bit to keep his balance, everyone once in a while, another kid would come and try to make him fall, leaving Junmyeon on the floor for a solid five minutes while he tried to get back up.

 

Why would these people have a trampoline? Outside a mansion, no less? And it was those cheap ones that families usually get. With the strong forces these teens had, the trampoline was bound to break at any moment.

 

At one point, Luhan had dragged another quiet male with him outside of the trampoline area, speaking in Chinese so Junmyeon had no clue what they were saying. The end result was the Chinese male sighed and got in the trampoline only to be knocked out in 5 seconds by the grandpa-guy.

 

He rapidly went to the wall and just stayed there, eyes shut as if he were in pain. Junmyeon crawled his way to where the Chinese was and grabbed onto the wall beside him.

 

“Are you okay?” Junmyeon asked him.

 

The Chinese didn’t respond, keeping his eyes tightly shut as he furiously nodded his head. Junmyeon noticed that his knuckles were turning white and his body was shaking.

 

“Do you want to get out of-“ before Junmyeon had finished, one of the dirty-minded kids jumped on top of him and the Chinese kid both, causing them all to fall down and to roll to the center of the trampoline.

 

“Ha, Canadian boy lost!” Renjun had shouted, right when Felix tackled Renjun to the ground as well. Renjun reached out to choke Felix but instead choked the Chinese on accident. Without thinking, Junmyeon lunged to Renjun and grabbed his arms to prevent him from killing the other, but apparently Junmyeon was suddenly thrown across the trampoline and his vision went black.

 

***  


“Why do you guys rough-house so much?” Junmyeon recognized the voice to be of Jongin, the shy boy who was always with Kyungsoo, but he still couldn’t see anything.

 

He blinked his eyes open slowly, the dark, blurred vision getting a little clearer each passing second. “I forgot he wasn’t like us,” he heard one of them say. “He doesn’t exactly smell human.”  


“Taeyong, you just like to throw everyone,” someone else said. “Don’t play the innocent one here.”  


“Is he ever innocent, though?” Someone else shouted.

 

As Junmyeon’s eyes got accustom to the light, that’s when he realize Jongin, Luhan and the Chinese male from earlier were peering over him.

 

“IS he going to be okay?” The Chinese male told Luhan in broken Korean.

 

“Yeah, he’ll get over it,” Luhan replied back. “Just don’t tell Kris, Minseok, or Baekhyun.”

 

Junmyeon was still a bit confused. “What..happened?” He drawled out.

 

Jongin and Luhan reached over to pull him up, Junmyeon stumbling for a few seconds before he got his balance again. Luhan dusted off some of the dirt that got stuck to Junmyeon’s clothes as he explained.

 

“The kids get really rowdy,” he explained, “and they forget you don’t have the same strength as them, so Taeyong accidently made you fly across the sky. You were unconscious for five minutes.”

 

“We should still take him to the infirmary or something,” Jongin told Luhan. “Can’t humans get, like, concussions or bleed their brain or something?”  


“Probably,” Luhan agreed.

 

As Jongin and Luhan pulled Junmyeon with them to what he assumed was the infirmary, the Chinese male followed them to wherever they were going. Well, for ten seconds anyways as Luhan could sense him.

 

Luhan turned around. “Si Cheng, stay here, I told you try to get to know the other teens.”

 

Si Cheng frowned. “I don’t want to.”

 

“it’s fine, we were talking anyways,” Junmyeon quickly piped in, noticing that SI Cheng didn’t want to stay. He looked like he was dying on the trampoline, for crying out loud, it was a whole new level of anxiety.

 

Luhan sighed and turned back around. “As long as you’re talking to people I’m good.”

 

The four walked to inside the house and through a series of pathways through the hallways, Luhan and Jongin quietly murmuring about stuff that Junmyeon had no clue about. His head hurt too much, anyways, so he just tuned out all of the conversations around him.

 

When they arrived, they made Junmyeon sit on one of the long beds they had there. Jongin left, claiming he was going to go get Kyungsoo, while Luhan talked to Si Cheng in a low voice, conversation in Chinese so Junmyeon couldn’t understand it.

 

At one point, Luhan got up. “I’m going to head out now. Junmyeon, tell me if you have any problems, okay? Don’t keep it all to yourself.” He left as soon as Jongin and Kyungsoo entered, the two bickering about something.

 

Junmyeon looked over to where Si Cheng was sitting, the teen having pulled his legs closer to his chest and clutching on to them for dear life. “So your name is Si Cheng? I’m Junmyeon.”  


Si Cheng looked up. “Yeah but…” he trailed off. “Oh, everyone knows about you.”

 

Junmyeon frowned. “What do you mean?”

 

“Oh, it’s just,” Si Cheng paused. “You guys are the new humans that have been here for a while. Plus, you guys are in a relationship with two of the guys that run this place.”

 

Junmyeon nodded. That made sense. From what he could tell, Chanyeol and Kris were usually some of the people that gave out the orders. Which is weird considering that they weren’t even here in the stronghold until a few days agos. From what Junmyeon picked up on bits of conversation here and there, Kris and Luhan are some of the most well-respected paranormal beings on the planet, with Chanyeol and Minseok also having a high level of recognition. So it made sense if everyone-

 

Wait a second. _Relationship?_  
  


Junmyeon widened his eyes. “No, no, I’m not in a relationship with Kris! We’re just…acquaintances, yeah-“

 

Si Cheng smiled. “I never said Kris.”

 

“There’s no one else you couldn’t have meant,” Junmyeon argued.

 

“Mhhm, okay.” Si Cheng buried his face onto his knees. “Doesn’t look like it, but sure. Just get out of the oblivious stage.”  


Junmyeon was really confused. (Always confused, in fact. Baekhyun has now been calling him Confused Boi half of the time. Not like Baekhyun was any better.) _Did_ it look like they were in a relationship? No, they just hanged out here and there. Nothing out of the ordinary.

 

Although it _is_ weird to think about. Even though Kris is a busy man, he still does stuff with Junmyeon. Kris offers to go on a walk with him every once in a while. He eats with Junmyeon in the mornings. He showed Junmyeon the large, scary attic of the place the other day and they managed to actually find a ghost named Hansol the other day, the two of them screaming and laughing for a whole hour afterwards about how they actually managed to find one. Kris finally brought the ice cream for them yesterday, but Kris accidently spilled most of it on his clothes. Junmyeon was a giggling mess, roaring with laughter over how ridiculous Kris looked with scoops of rocky road all over him, on his tightly-fitting button-up shirt, his long, black slacks that covered most of his white, pale long legs-

 

Okay, Junmyeon could see why _some_ people thought they were dating. But it was fine. When he and Baekhyun are together, they are always giggling messes as well. The other day, they tried to play UNO but kept failing to do so, eventually  abandoning the game since they kept making fun of the dresses in the Project Runaway season they had finished a couple of hours ago. So, yeah. Kris and Junmyeon were _totally_ platonic.

 

_Were they?_

 

The rumors had to exist for a reason. Junmyeon _did_ find it a bit odd that Junmyeon didn’t spend as much time with the other guys. Okay, maybe Junmyeon stared a _bit_ too long at Kris, but he just liked to study people. And no, it was _not_ a coincidence like Baekhyun said as to why Junmyeon is suddenly dressing up a bit nice; there were a lot of people, that’s all, and Junmyeon was in a place that he didn’t live in, so he had to look more presentable. And _no,_ Kris _definetyl_ didn’t like him back. Kris was just a nice, respectful person who probably had pity or sympathy on Junmyeon or something, not that Junmyeon wanted it. Of course, that comment made Chanyeol spit out his drink nd get Baekhyun dirty on accidently, with him rambling for a good 10 minutes on why the hell Junmyeon was totally wrong. Kris, _nice?_ Best joke of the century, no, _all_ of the centuries that Kris has been alive for.

 

Whatever. No one could change Junmyeon’s mind whatsoever. It was only Junmyeon who could state whether he had a crush on Kris or not.

 

Which, unfortunately, he did confirm later that night. A bit too late.

 

***

 

Kris had no idea what to do.

 

In the city the other day, Shownu and Wonho were severely injured. Kibum had stated that there was a higher amount of paranormal people in the area so everyone had to be on high alert. And Kris had no idea what to do.

 

What _could_ he possibly do? He had to think of more strategies, which is why he was going to Bangkok in the morning to talk with some of the people in the Central Thai stronghold.

 

He was walking around the building, trying to be as quiet as possible as it was night. It wasn’t until he saw a shadow outside on the balcony that made Kris halt his steps.

 

It was Junmyeon, awake at one in the morning. He was leaning towards the railing, staring at the moon above. It had been raining earlier, so the balcony was a bit wet. It looked like Junmyeon had been out earlier, considering how his styled-hair was now dripping wet, plastered onto his forehead. His clothes were wet, too,  with his white pajama shirt now have the greyish appearance since it was soaked, his black shorts having water droplets come off. Yet Junmyeon didn’t seem bothered by all of this, continuing to stare at the moon above him.

 

If Kris were honest with himself, this looked really hot. It didn’t last, though, since he remembered five seconds later that humans could get sick from the rain and why in the world was Junmyeon up so late?

 

Junmyeon didn’t notice Kris’ presence until Kris opened the sliding door to enter the balcony, Junmyeon turning around so quickly that he slipped backwards, a splash being heard as he landed on a puddle, head slamming onto the ground.

 

In a flash, Kris ran towards him to pick him back up. He heard that Junmyeon had fallen earlier today, and although he was pissed at Luhan even though it was his fault, he did say Junmyeon shouldn’t bump his head too much for the next few days. So Junmyeon falling and bumping his head on the floor was not a good thing. So now Kris was worried.

 

He lifted Junmyeon off the ground by scooping down and carrying, then sitting Junmyeon down on his two feet again. “I’m sorry for scary you.”  


“No, it’s okay,” Junmyeon stated, holding his head since it was hurting again. “I’m really clumsy, I need to be more careful.”

 

Kris nodded even though he knew deep down it was his own fault. “What are you doing out here?”

 

“Oh, well,” Junmyeon turned to look back at the moon above. “I couldn’t sleep and I like the rain so I came out here, sorry for disturbing you-“

 

“No, I just, I-“ Kris stuttered. “Just, you know, saw you, so I, just, wanted to come out here. So you like rain?” Kris said to save himself.

 

Junmyeon smiled as he faced Kris. “I love it. it’s just so… calming and it feels nice and it pleases me. I can’t describe it.”  


“No, I know what you mean,” Kris said. “It can be soothing sometimes. It’s like when you shower and are alone with your thoughts, but of course, more natural.” Kris couldn’t believe the stuff he was spewing out of his mouth. Since when did he think of this stuff?

 

When Junmyeon smiled and looked down on the floor, Kris realized that this is true for some people after all. It all just depended on your perspective on life, and Junmyeon did have some of the nicest views on things that Kris has ever heard of. Except on himself, which Kris thought was bullshit. Junmyeon self-deprecating himself made Kris so mad on how such a lovely person could think so low of themselves-

 

Suddenly, Kris knew what he wanted to do. And it was a bad idea. But one he wanted to risk for anyways.

 

He leaned in closer to Junmyeon, the other not noticing until Kris was a good ten centimeters away from his face. Right when Junmyeon figured out what Kris was going to do, he closed his eyes and leaned in closer.

 

 _This is a bad idea. We shouldn’t be doing this_.

 

Suddenly, Junmyeon jolted backwards, eyes opening really quick. “I’ll just..I’m going to go then. Sorry. Goodnight.” With that, Junmyeon ran towards the sliding door and left the balcony, leaving Kris alone to ponder on what the hell just happened. That’s when he realized.

 

He said it outloud.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> y'all thought
> 
> don't worry they won't be separated for like 5 years or something stupid like that
> 
> anyways


	19. Fanboys Stay Indoors

Baekhyun woke up confused as to why there were two pairs of arms around him and why the bed was wet, but then as he remembered the events of last night, he quickly closed back his eyes.

 

Junmyeon had walked in in the middle of the night, tears streaking down his face despite giving the appearance that he was soaked. Of course, when your best friend walks in during midnight and cries of how he’s a failure, the best thing you can do is cuddle for the next few hours. So Baekhyun invited Junmyeon to his bed where there both clutched on to each other and Junmyeon was knocked out 5 minutes flat.

 

Although, Chanyeol was back hugging him though, so it was a weird position. Still, though, what Baekhyun really wanted to know was what put Junmyeon it that mood. Junmyeon wasn’t mumbling anything coherent last night and Baekhyun wasn’t going to push him if his friend was already in so much distress. The only thing Baekhyun figured out was that Junmyeon must have been standing outside in the rain again; it was one of Junmyeon’s quirks.

 

Baekhyun didn’t plan on getting out of bed until Junmyeon did. Not that he could anyways, broken foot and all. And you could only pretend to sleep for so long anyways.

 

Chanyeol eventually woke up and offered to get them breakfast. With him gone, Baekhyun tried the best he could to change Junmyeon’s clothing. Baekhyun was baffled by how Junmyeon never got a cold when he went out in the rain, but nonetheless, he took off Junmyeon’s pajamas and replaced them into a plain white t-shirt and black shorts. He would have changed the sheets, too, but Baekhyun couldn’t pick up Junmyeon up and place him somewhere else. Maybe Chanyeol could help him later.

 

When Chanyeol came back with 3 plates of toast and fruit, that’s when Baekhyun decided to wake Junmyeon up. “Hey, Myeonnie, wake up, you need to eat.”

 

Junmyeon stirred in his sleep. Baekhyun shook him gently until Junmyeon fluttered his eyes open. “Hey, Junmyeon, come on, eat some breakfast.”  


Junmyeon turned around, wrapping more of the sheets around him. “I’m fine, don’t worry about it.”

 

Baekhyun sighed. “Junmyeon, I’m not asking about how are you or what happened since clearly it’s not good. I’m not stupid. I’m just asking you to eat some toast.”  


He didn’t receive a response. He climbed over Junmyeon and pulled the sheets off of his face. “It’s just toast, Junmyeon, look.” Baekhyun grabbed one the plates that Chanyeol was carrying. The toast was a tad undercooked, the fruit chopped all messy and still a bit wet. Chanyeol still wasn’t good at cooking but he was improving and Baekhyun couldn’t help but smile a bit.

 

With a fork, he picked up a strawberry piece and ripped off a part of the toast. “Here, look, there’s strawberries, I know you like them.”

 

“It doesn’t matter what I like,” Junmyeon muttered under his breath. “I’m not going to get him anyways.”  


Baekhyun dropped the fork, eyes widening. What the _hell_ did Junmyeon just say?!

 

Ah. What happened last night must involve Kris. Baekhyun hoped he didn’t do anything because was a nice guy and it would be awful to see him dead.

 

Regaining some of his senses back, he picked back up the fork and thrusted it towards Junmyeon’s face. “You’re right. It doesn’t matter what you want, you’re still going to eat. Here.”

 

Junmyeon, hesitating for a bit, finally opened his mouth and accepted the food. He let Baekhyun feed him for the next ten minutes and went straight to sleep right afterwards, almost as if he were fainting.

 

And it went on like that for the rest of the day. At first, Baekhyun and Chanyeol talked quietly for not wanting to disturb him, but they caught on soon enough that no amount of loudness would wake him up.

 

For lunch, Baekhyun fed Junmyeon some grilled cheese and apple juice, then dinner consisting of some japchae noodles and spicy kimchi fried rice.

 

When Junmyeon fell asleep again, only managing to eat half of what was in his bowl, Chanyeol took the plates. “I’ll be right back, okay?”

 

“Can you just stay, please,” Baekhyun whispered. “I just want to go to sleep, and, well….” He looked over to where Junmyeon was, body covered by the duvet cover. “I guess it hasn’t been a good day.”

 

Chanyeol stacked the plates down on the nightstand. “Don’t blame yourself, you’re trying your best.”

 

Baekhyun scoffed at him. “Yeah, by letting him sleep and feeding him. That’s all I’ve been doing. I just….” His lips started to quiver, his eyes beginning to gleam as pools of tears began to collect at his eyes. “I haven’t been there for him. He-“

 

“You guys are closer than a pair of two cells,” Chanyeol replied. He went over to Baekhyun pulled his hand towards him. “Don’t doubt yourself.”

 

Doubting was what he did best, though.

 

***

 

For someone who liked knives, he sure couldn’t defend himself from them.

 

It happed again earlier. A few days ago, some of them were downtown and Renjun got lost and therefore stabbed. Thankfully, he managed to swerve just enough so that it was his shoulder that received the knife and not his chest. Jongdae came by quickly and managed to kill the two vampires and no one else was hurt.

 

Chen Le kept rocking back in his chair as he waited for Jungwoo. He was with Renjun in one of the hidden rooms in the southwest wing on the underground floor, which mainly consisted of a TV and snack machines. There were demonic carvings and drawings plastered all over the wall which Renjun thought was cool so he always hanged out here. Chen Le was crept out a bit, so he put snowmen figurines next to the satanic stuff in order to make the place more homely.

 

Renjun kept rubbing the scar on his shoulder. “You know, for people who are supposed to be immortals, I was really about to die so soon.”  


“We both look 12, of course we won’t be able to do much,” Chen Le replied. He couldn’t focused on the anime on the screen. “For having lived a long time, sometimes I wonder why we still can’t go out alone but now with your stunt I understand why.”  


“Shut up,” Renjun muttered under his breath as soon as the door open, Jungwoo barging in with a handful of books. _Books?_ Renjun hasn’t read one in ages. Except that one book. But he wasn’t going to admit that.

 

Jungwoo handed the books to Chen Le. “I finished them all. Now I have nothing to read.”

 

“Hey, Jungwoo, here’s what you can do,” Renjun offered to help him. “Have you ever heard of the internet?” Sarcastically, of course.

 

“If you’re going to talk about eBooks, no, everyone knows they suck,” Chen Le piped up. He set the stack of books on the coffee table in front of them. “I feel like we already used our Minseok Minutes today. All because of _this_ dummy.”

 

Renjun raised his hands up, pretending to look offended. “The whole group voted Felix as dumbass as the year, with Lucas a close second. No need to throw me under the bus.”

 

“Already threw yourself at a knife.” Jungwoo huffed and cross his arms, giving a pouting look. “Lucas is not a dumb-whatever you said. Thanks to you, we’re not going to be able to go outside for a good o’ amount of time.”

 

“Y’all act like I want to get injured for fun,” Renjun exclaimed.

  
“You kind of do.”  


“Okay, point taken.” Renjun slumped on the couch. “Hey, why don’t we ask that human thing to take us? Since all of the official adults seem to be busy anyways.”  


“Baekhyun has a broken foot,” Chen Le said. “What makes you think he can go out in his condition?”

 

“Hey, I was stab and that won’t stop me from going to that wicked ice cream parlor,” Renjun defended himself. “And no, not him, the other one. The one who isn’t _exactly_ human. The one with the mafia boss leader guy.”  


“Kris? He’s with-“  
  
“We are _not_ in a mafia!” Jungwoo crossed his arms even harder, practically hugging himself to death. “I’m not killing anyone _ever_.”  


“Maybe Junmyeon can take us, he’s really nice.” Chen Le gave it a good thought for a solid minute. Yeah, this Junmyeon looked really powerful. And he makes delicious dessert. Yeah, that’s a good candidate. “Yeah, I’ll ask him! That’s a good idea!”

 

“Yeah, well, they aren’t going to let _me_ go. Need to remind you that I got stabbed?”

 

***

 

It took a week but Junmyeon was back to normal. Well, that’s what others would say.

 

Coincidently, it has also been a week since Junmyeon had last seen Kris. He had assumed the latter had been avoiding him but then it was revealed that he had some urgent matters in Thailand. Which, of course, made Junmyeon burst into tears at the thought of that one soup he prepared.

 

He never did tell Baekhyun what happened, which of course hurt him more since they told each other everything. Luckily, Baekhyun didn’t press it, but it only made Junmyeon feel worse. Pathetic, even. How long as he known Kris, anyways? A few weeks? The exact amount of time that Junmyeon had just started interacting with others? Whatever, he knew by now that you’ll never get what you want in life. He just had to suck it up.

 

Like right now. Currently, he was accidently involved in an argument involved with four other kids complaining whether they should continue playing Dos.

 

“It’s just a ripoff of UNO, what did you expect of Chinese products?” one of them said.

 

Chen Le, the one who coincidently was the only non-Korean and non-my-name-starts-with-J in the group, pouted. “You’re just mad ‘cause you’re losing, Jaemin.”

 

“Is no one going to talk about how this game is literally made by the same creators of UNO?” Jisung asked. “No one? Hasbro? Come on, guys, I thought you were smart.”

 

“I’m not stupid!” Chen Le shouted, right before he put down three cards (the rules really confused Junmyeon.) “Dos!” he shouted.

 

Angry, Jaemin threw his cards down, landing on top of the pile and scattering the other cards everywhere. “I hate this game.”

 

“Hey, Jaemin, do you want some ointment?” Jisung asked him. “You know, for being a sore loser-“

 

“Who did the cliché flip-the-board in monopoly yesterday?” Jaemin took out his phone, not caring about the game anymore. “Sure, let’s complain the hot guy, obviously.”

 

“Literally no one thinks that.”  


“Jisung that’s your opinion.” Jeno complained. “Maybe we should go upstairs and watch a movie-“   


“No, wait, I’m still waiting for Minseok!” Chen Le frantically grabbed the cards and tried to reshuffle them. “Come on, please, just one more round!”

 

“I want this game minus one,” Jaemin flat-out stated. “and nachos. Not the soggy ones Jungwoo gets all the time. By the way, where is he?”

 

“Well, if you really want to know,” Chen Le grinned. “Lucas heard Jungwoo complain about having nothing to read so then he offered Jungwoo to go pick out one of his own books-“

 

“You see, there’s this-“  


“No internet, but yeah, he kept complaining about it all, first with Renjun, but,” Chen Le smirked. “That’s all I’m telling you-“

 

“What do you want Minseok for?” Junmyeon asked him. Sometimes he felt like a nanny who was there to break up fights.

 

Chen Le pouted again. “I want to go to the bookstore downtown but with Renjun being Renjun, that might never happen again. Hey, you wouldn’t mind taking us, do you?”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay i feel like this is starting to lean a bit on the NCT side but trust me they play an important role especially in the bookstore scene and *SPOILER* when water happens that will be the best sign


	20. I… Didn’t Just Get a Book

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's some good stuff
> 
> not edited btw

Maybe Minseok should just ask Kibum to clone him. He can clone stuff, right? He mentioned about replicating a bunch of kiwis out of thin air once.

 

That was fruit, though. Minseok didn’t know if that included living beings made out of cells. Wait, kiwis are made out of cells too. That was one of the only science facts that he has ever learned, courtesy of Junmyeon and Baekhyun. Minseok never went to high school, and he doesn’t waste time on the internet anyways.

 

But back to the cloning. Can Kibum clone people? Minseok would have asked him, but he went out to the city with some of the guys earlier, especially Jonghyun. Sehun was glad to see that couple go, tired of all the times that Jonghyun asked him for advice. Like how to cut watermelon. Who needs advice on how to cut watermelon?

 

Minseok was confident Kibum could clone him. Zitao in the past had cloned himself a couple of times when they were in peril.

 

He let out a sigh while the kids around him kept arguing with each other. He missed Zitao a lot. He remembers the time when Zitao first found him. When they would go on those morning walks. When Zitao became acquainted with Sehun and would talk about him for hours, trying to get opinions and advice out of Minseok even though he has been alive for centuries. Those were moments he was never going to get back.

 

“For the last time, none of you guys are going anywhere and that’s final,” Minseok stated. “No arguments. Who are you guys going with, anyways?”

 

“Junmyeon already said he can,” Chen Le replied. He was not going to back out of the chance of having more books and more time spent outside.

 

Minseok gave a “seriously?” look, eyebrows raised up as if thinking if this was a joke. “Really? No, you’re not going out especially with him. At least you guys have more stamina.”  


Junmyeon blinked rapidly, not believing the fact that Minseok thought he needed more attention than these….well, he wanted to call them five year olds, but he knew they were all older than himself.

 

“You’re not the boss of me,” Jisung fired back at Minseok.

 

“I never said I was.” Minseok picked up his bag and was preparing to head out. “I can’t go today, I’m sorry, I have other stuff to do.”

 

“It’s not fair!” Chen Le lips started to quiver and his eyes were becoming more glassy. “We always have to wait for one of you guys to be available! We’re always stuck in this stupid place!”

 

“What defines an adult anyway? Age? Because I’ve been around for a longer amount of time than you,” Jaemin argued. “So technically I can go out.”  


“You were turned in your teen years, Jaemin, I was turned in my mid-twenties,” Minseok said.

 

Jaemin frowned. “But’s never going to change, though.”

 

The pained look on Minseok’s face was one that Junmyeon has never seen before. An assorted mix of pain and anger, worries and confusion.

 

It was a mother’s look, Junmyeon realized, one that he has never seen displayed on his own grandparents face. Sure, they never treated him badly or left him to starve, but they just never cared about whatever Junmyeon did. This scenario was obviously different; how are supposed to have your loved one happy and well protected when their happiness conflicted with their safety?

 

Junmyeon remembered all those times when he and Baekhyun were in high school, about how his mother and father were always over his head monitor him over everything. He would complain about his curfew, about the limited places he was allowed to go. Baekhyun was never allowed to see anyone, much less have sex with anyone, and had always been the reasons why Baekhyun has always been alone, with only Junmyeon remaining by his side.

 

If his parents saw him now, they would be having a cardiac arrest. It was bad enough that they kept persuading Baekhyun to go live somewhere else, but if they  ever found out about him walking with Junmyeon in the middle of the night to buy snacks or hanging out with super powered beings they would lock him up forever. They don’t even know about Chanyeol’s existence yet.

 

Junmyeon had always told Baekhyun that he should try being a bit more opened, but Baekhyun always put the idea down.

 

 _It’s not good to be hiding stuff from them,_ Junmyeon would tell him. _They want to keep in touch with you as much as they can_.

 

 _Oh, I keep in touch of them,_ Baekhyun would tell him. _I love them, they’re my family. They’re just never going to see my side of things. I don’t blame them, but if my stuff makes them worry  too much and be more stressful, I prefer them to be naïve about it and to be at peace. You know I’ve never been able to have an open relationship with them._

That was probably why their relationship worked so well. Junmyeon needed someone to be there for him, Baekhyun needed someone to hear him. It went well together. No matter how odd the pair was, Junmyeon had never questioned it.

 

There was still a lot that he needed to talk to Baekhyun about. Later they had scheduled to watch a movie together, just the two of them, and Junmyeon was going to pour everything out. Might not solve anything, sure, but it would definitely make him feel better.

 

Not to mention that Baekhyun was, well, Baekhyun, as in nosy. Why he hasn’t press the issue, who knows, but Junmyeon still remains grateful for it.

 

These kids, however, kept pushing at it. Course he couldn’t relate, Junmyeon has never felt the need to socialize with outside people, but that was just him.

 

The kids kept arguing with Minseok for a good 4 minutes until at one point Minseok gave up. “Look, I’ll let you guys go out, okay, but only for an hour. And you’re going in two separate groups because I’ve had others ask for permission to go, too.”

 

“I can go second,” Chen Le offered. “I’m still waiting for Jungwoo.”

 

“Sure, I’ll persuade, I don’t know, Minhyun or something _but_ you guys aren’t allowed to separate, got that? There’s too much going on and we can’t afford anyone else getting injured.”  


“Damn, guess Renjun’s not going,” Jaemin replied. “Promise me you’ll keep an eye on them, okay? I trust you.”

 

And just like that, Junmyeon was invited.

 

***

 

“There’s rumors of a tight-knit cult forming near Guangzhou. There’s not that much info, though.”

 

Luhan massaged his temples, trying to ignore the pain that has been troubling him for a while. “A lot more groups have been getting violent, lately.”

 

Junhui could only sigh, not able to offer Luhan any sense of ease. “And Song’s group has been quiet, lately. Somethings going on, but not much threats have been made towards us.”

 

“Yeah, just a bunch of drama here. Kris is being a dumbass, Chanyeol has been a whipped dumbass, and I guess I’ve been one, too.” Luhan reached over the coffee table and grabbed the newspaper article that had been delivered to Junhui that morning. “You know, in all my years of living, I’ve never truly had a time of peace before.”  


“Can’t relate,” Junhui laughed. “Where I’m from, I never had any dilemma. Of course, now it’s different with the internet, phones, and CIA becoming bigger threats.”

 

“What, you didn’t have an issue during the communist revolution?” Luhan quizzed. “That was a hellish time for Kris and I. We had such a hard time traveling here and there.”

 

Junhui grabbed the photographs and put in the clear plastic wrap that was in the file folder. “Well, Minghao wants to go back, but you know how indecisive he can be.”

 

“Like, stay in one of the strongholds go back or in live in a cliché lifestyle go back?”

 

Junhui hesitated, not quite wanting to answer. “We’re still discussing it.”

 

“You guys have been here for a while, though, and this isn’t supposed to be permanent.” Luhan got up from the sofa, dusting off his jeans of crumbs from the cookies he ate earlier. “I don’t know how Jongdae has been running this place.”

 

Junhui shrugged. “We may be immortal, but we’re all going to die anyways.”

 

***

 

“You’re right, I am in love with him.”  


Pause. “Come again?”

 

“I admit it, okay?! I’m admitting it right here, right now, that I, Lee Felix, am in love with Seo Changbin! I’m in love with him! I’m in love with his stupid gorgeous face and his stupid smile and his not-stupid socks!”

 

“I told you that you liked him! You’re were always thinking about him and you kept denying it.”

 

“Whatever, you just gave Jungwoo some books.”

 

Another pause. “Hey, you know how we asked Minseok to go out, right? And he said no?”

 

“Yeah, just ignore my love confession and remind me another reason why I’m miserable.”

 

“Yeah, cause wearing all black means you’re sad and emo, apparently.”  
  
“Shut up.”

 

“No but anyways, came here a while ago and said that change of plans, we could go out-“  


“REALLY?!”

  
“Yeah, I know right?! We can’t go alone, though, and we’re going to be in a group, but hey, it’s better than nothing!”  


“Damn, we got to make a listen and think of everything we can do in an hour!”  


“We need to stock up on the Nintendo switch games!!”

 

“Damn, you right!”  


“Come on, Felix, we have shit to do!”  


“Don’t add your boyfriend on the to-do list-“

 

“Shut the fuck up!”

  
***

 

They looked pretty weird walking down the street.

 

All 6 of them were standing side by side. Junmyeon was on one end, the one closest to the street. Si Cheng was right next to him, who had apparently been force to come since he has barely left his room these past years, much less the house. He still has yet to meet all of the young inhabitants of the place.

 

Besides them were two people who Junmyeon doesn’t quite remember having a conversation with them but has heard their names before spoken by the others. Lucas and Felix, usually paired with an insulting adjective. Considering how Felix was one of the crazy people on the trampoline that one time, Junmyeon could understand why.

 

Last but not least, the all famous Chen Le and Jungwoo. Those two were stuck together like two peas in a pod (“or like you and Baekhyun” Chanyeol had described it). Two pairs of besties, two friends who told each other everything. One loud, one quiet. One Chinese, one Korean. The two were inseparable.

 

Junmyeon had been told that Jungwoo and Lucas had been some of the newer additions, alongside another named Kun, but from what he could tell, those two appeared to have feelings for each other. Minseok had told Junmyeon that the two were showing signs of imprinting based on what they had confided him, but it was baffling because they weren’t at the age of imprinting yet. The two were turned at a young age, and it would take a long time before they could mentally mature at least a bit. Of course, the imprinting didn’t happen as quick as Chanyeol and Baekhyun but that might be because of their age.

 

This was an odd job. Junmyeon has never been left in charge of something, only the occasional blender here and there because Baekhyun had been afraid of it. It was why he was so delighted with all the smoothies Chanyeol kept giving him, he had never been able to make some for himself.

 

Junmyeon clapped his hands together. “So! Is there, uh, anything you guys have in mind?”

 

“We can watch a movie!” Jungwoo explained, clutching onto Chen Le’s arm. “I’ve always wanted to check one out.”  


“We only have an hour, that would be a dumb idea,” Felix said, only to yelp in pain when Lucas slapped him.

 

“Whenever we come here, I like to go to the bookstore,” Chen Le said. “There’s a new manga series that just came out-“

 

“That reminds me, Felix, remember that anime we were watching? There’s a golden limited edition box set with bonus features, we need to get it!” Lucas held on to Felix, rocking him back and forth. “We have to get it, it’s only available for a week!”

 

What a crazy bunch.

 

The good thing was that _technically_ Junmyeon wasn’t the only one supervising them. Minseok had apparently let others around working in the area to be on high alert for anything suspicious. Not that Junmyeon could detect them.

 

Junmyeon turned to face Si Cheng, who still hasn’t said a word. “What do you want to do? You haven’t said anything.”

 

Si Cheng just shrugged. “Food?”

 

“Yes, bitch, I’m S T A R V I N G” screeched Lucas, who grabbed Jungwoo’s and Felix’s hands and dragged them forward. “We have to have ALL of the junk food possible!”

 

Junk food? Now _that_ was one of Junmyeon’s favorite pastime!  


With none of them wanting to sit in a restaurant and waste time, they bought food from the street vendors in one crowded street. Junmyeon was really glad that Minseok had given him pocket change to spend for the group, because otherwise, he would never been able to afford anything with how much they ate.

 

Lucas and Felix ate like three whole chickens between them with the insane amount of chicken tenders they ate, and forget about the cheese sauce. Jungwoo ate 5 servings of cotton candy (and was teased by Lucas as well, they think it went unnoticed but nooooo) and also had a banana split sundae. Chen Le had nachos, pizza, 3 bowls of ramyeon, mocha, 2 bottles of sprite. Si Cheng was the only normal eater between them, but he still ate three bowls of wonton soup which was _still_ too much.

 

Junmyeon just bought a Hershey bar, if he had one more thought of food, he was going to throw up. Forget about stamina and powers, their appetite was the most unusual thing about them.

 

After that disastrous inhalation of calories they all went to the promised bookstore, led by Chen Le and Jungwoo who always go there.

 

Walking in immediately left Junmyeon in peace. He missed being somewhere quiet. Not _too_ quiet, though, he didn’t want to be left with his thoughts.

 

It wasn’t even 3 seconds, though, when the group already dispersed. Chen Le and Jungwoo went straight to the manga section, with Lucas and Felix going to the anime row next to them. Si Cheng went to some section with Chinese characters, which was probably where the translated novels were located.

 

Still keeping to his word, Junmyeon roamed around for a bit, straining his ears and darting his head around every now and then to make sure that the kids haven’t died yet. This wasn’t so bad.

 

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a small area, near the corner of the bookstore, right where the manga was. Junmyeon turned to read the Korean characters more clearly, which simply stated _Foreign Language Learning_.

 

He walked over there slowly. Most of the section was dedicated to English learning which wasn’t surprising, but there were still a considerable amount of books made to learn Japanese, Spanish, and…

 

Junmyeon picked up the book that said _Chinese for Dummies_ , weighing the massive book in his hands.

 

That was heavy, for sure, and this was only for beginners. Junmyeon spotted the intermediate and Advanced books next to it, and they were huge as well. This probably didn’t even cover the characters, anyways, just grammar or something.

 

He grabbed two other Chinese books for beginners and checked the cost, deciding he would get those for himself; he still had some of his own money, anyways, since he hasn’t been doing grocery shopping and errands here. He also had two notebooks that he brought with him and his school supplies so that he could practice writing and notetaking. No way he was getting the Rosetta Stone, though, that was expensive.

 

He turned around when he bumped into something, more specifically, _someone._

 

He stumbled a bit and realized that he bumped into someone’s chest. His heart rate only increased when he looked up and saw the person’s face.

 

It was…

 

“Hey, Junmyeon,” Kris said, eyeing down the latter. “I.. well, Minseok said you guys were in the city and to keep an eye on you guys, so..”  


“O-oh, yeah, I, yeah, the kids wanted to roam the city, and, uh-“ _shit I’m going into rambling mode._

 

Kris was back?! Wasn’t he supposed to still be in Thailand or something? Why was he in the bookstore, anyways?

 

Kris stuffed his hands into his back pockets and rolled his feet back and forth a bit. “What books are you looking for, anyways?”  


“I-“ he couldn’t just say Chinese, that was going to be too embarrassing. Kris had already told him they shouldn’t be doing….whatever it was they were doing. _So why was he still here?!_

 

Kris looked down to stare at the book titles, the books being clutched closer to Junmyeon’s chest. “Chinese?”  


“I’ve been wanting to learn for a while, so I, you know, figured I, uh, well-“ Junmyeon didn’t get to finish his sentence when Kris took the books out of his hands. “He-hey what are you _doing_?!”

 

“These books aren’t going to teach you the basics that you need,” Kris flat-out said before putting the books back on the shelf, scanning the other titles for a bit before essentially grabbing one. “Look, this one is better.” He placed the book onto Junmyeon’s quivering hands before grabbing another one off the shelf. “This was is good for vocabulary and strokes. And this one too,” he continued, grabbing a smaller book and handing it to Junmyeon as well. “Teaches you slang. Believe me, there’s a lot of Chinese at the stronghold and you’ll want to know what they’re saying. Speaking of which, you should probably get a dictionary too.” He grabbed the thick, heavy bound book on the bottom row and handed it to him. Junmyeon was struggling to handle all of the weight.

 

He gave Kris a smile. He was still a caring person. “Thanks, I’m gonna, you know,” he said, making head motions to the cash register nearby. “This is all I wanted.”

 

He turned around and walked to register (not before getting a glimpse of Kris’s awkward half-smile)  and waited behind two people, quickly making a confused face. What, _exactly_ , just….?

 

Suddenly, he heard a loud Chen Le arguing with someone, who turned out to be Kris himself.

 

“What are _you_ doing here?! Minseok said we were just going to be with Junmyeon!”  


Damn, looks like Junmyeon was gonna have to eavesdrop on this one, too.

 

Kris kept his voice at a considerable lower volume than Chen Le, thankfully. “I was just in the area and saw you guys, what’s wrong with that-“  


“Why? Us? We know you guys don’t care about us, you just came here to bother Junmyeon.”

 

Kris was still quiet but his voice was starting to get angry. “I’m _not_ here to bother Junmyeon, I don’t annoy him-“

 

“Yeah, yeah, that’s why he looked like shit for this entire week!”

 

“Chen Le, stop it,” Jungwoo piped in, his voice a bit louder than normal. “Some people are staring-“  
  
“No, what _I_ demand to know is why he’s here if he obviously doesn’t care about Junmyeon-“  
  
“What do you mean I don’t care-“

 

“You rejected him, didn’t you? Considering the way he’s been acting like he got dumped and he doesn’t talk about you anymore! No one can even say your name!”

 

Junmyeon turned around and was about to tell them to _please_ stop arguing, now was not the time, especially since they were talking about him but at that moment Kris got really pissed and couldn’t hold back.

 

“You know what, Chen Le? I’m sorry, I don’t normally curse at children but you don’t know what the _fuck_ you are talking about! You come over here and tell me that I don’t care about him when the past fucking week at Bangkok all I could think about was what a big fucking screw up I am and how I should just think before I act because now I’m just a big asshole who fucking regrets everything! You know why I don’t want to date him? Because then he’ll be involved in some massive shit and would be hurt even more when the whole reason why we brought him here was to be protected here in the first place! It is a bad idea, okay!? I’m not going to get someone that I fucking love so much get injured, someone so humble, so caring, who doesn’t see the obvious defects in you that everyone else sees but the good things, the bits and pieces that maybe no one cares but he does, he knows how to make you feel wanted, he knows how to make you feel needed, he’s such a thankful person and I-I just don’t know…” Kris trailed off when he noticed Junmyeon staring back at him.

 

Tears were formed in Kris and it made Junmyeon wonder why did everyone see Kris as… maybe not a bad guy, per say, but an unapproachable one. Kris _was_ the one to who he approached to first.

 

They didn’t break eye contact. Junmyeon hugged his books closer to his chest as much as he good, not knowing what to say. It wasn’t until he heard someone calling mister really loud when he realized that that the cashier was waiting for Junmyeon to hand over his books to pay for them.

 

He could feel everyone staring at him which made him more nervous. _Now is not the time for a panic attack, Junmyeon, calm down, you’re going to go home and cuddle up next to Baekhyun and watch bad movies and, and not think about Kris like the past week because, shit, don’t think about_ -

 

“Can we go now, Junmyeon?” Si Cheng asked him. “I think our hour is almost up.”

 

“I…yeah, sure, all….seven of us, let’s head back….” He called out for the others (Lucas and Felix recorded the whole thing but no one knew that) and they all met outside of the store and prepared for the walk home.

 

The five teens were in the front, whispering to each other about who-knows-what, Junmyeon didn’t have super hearing, but that left Junmyeon to be at the back with…Kris.

 

They didn’t say anything for a while which left them very tense. Junmyeon wasn’t going to break the silence in a million years, so he only got more stressful when Kris spoke up again, right when they arrived home, the kids scattering everywhere all around the mansion.

 

“Junmyeon, can I ask you a question?” He asked him.

 

Junmyeon brought up his bag to his chest, the books having been hard to carry the entire walk. “Yeah?”  


“Did you miss me?” the fact that Kris made direct eye contact with him didn’t help.

 

Junmyeon wanted to lie, to say no, he didn’t, in fact, miss Kris, knowing damn well he did, that despite not wanting to think about him that was practically the only thing he did. At last, he stuttered out…

 

“…Yes.”

 

With that comment, Kris rapidly reached out and grabbed Junmyeon’s hand, making the other almost lose his grip on his bag before Kris led them through the halls, Junmyeon following behind him, being led to a series of twist and turns and a hidden door where Kris hastily pulled it open and dragged Junmyeon inside.

 

Junmyeon didn’t know what he expected. But the scene he was confronted with, it was….marvelous.

 

It was an underground cave, a _huge cave_ that was probably bigger than the mansion inside, with a series of streams being stretched across everywhere and groups of small cliffs and waterfalls present, random rays of moonlight certain parts of the area, why, Junmyeon didn’t know, again, probably witchcraft-

 

He was still trying to process the scene in front of him when Kris spoke up again. “Remember when I told you about my favorite hidden spots? Well, this one is number one.”

 

Junmyeon was _speechless_. He couldn’t describe this place, he was trying to look at everything at the same time, it was astonishing, all those trees and splashes of water and _Junmyeon adored water so much why_ _didn’t Kris show him this before-_

 

“Look, I just want to say I’m sorry for being an asshole, okay?” Kris said. He grabbed Junmyeon gently in order to face him. “I’m sorry, I just, I don’t think before I speak, and I honestly don’t know what happened between us but..” Kris grabbed onto Junmyeon’s shoulder, making him drop his bag. “I _want_ there to be something between us.”

 

“Kris, I-“ Junmyeon stopped, only being able to focus on Kris’s face in front of him.

 

As if on cue, the latter led him to one of the waterfalls, the two of them getting sort of too close as some water was being splashed onto them, not that Junmyeon cared, he _loved_ getting wet by water.

 

Kris let go of Junmyeon’s shoulders slowly, raising his hands a bit higher towards his cheeks. He grabbed Junmyeon’s face softly, as if not wanting to leave a bruise, and leaned his head down, letting Junmyeon’s lips meet with his.

 

And that’s where the two of them stayed for a while. Their lips making contact, with water falling onto them, none of them giving a damn as Junmyeon brought his arms around Kris as the other grabbed his neck, the two of them getting closer and closer and panting and faces getting red and not making any move to stop.

 

Baekhyun might be an idiot sometimes, Junmyeon thought to himself, but he was right about one thing, damn, kisses were so good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there we have it
> 
> btw i've never been kissed so i tried to make it romantic


	21. My Friend is Choking on Aspirin Again

“This isn’t a smart plan, Minghao-“  


“Well, YOU try to come up with a better plan,” Minghao yelled back to Vernon, with Luhan the only one remaining silent. He didn’t feel like meddling with their antics.

 

They had received a distress call back at the stronghold from Junhui about a group of rogue vampires. Panicking Minghao had urged them to go and check it out, but of course Vernon was suspicious. After getting into another fight with Minseok earlier that day, Luhan said fuck it and decided to tag alone in order to keep an eye on the two idiots.

 

Minghao was still walking with his phone, scrambling to get another message from Junhui. Vernon usually had a bored expression, but he was becoming to turn uneasy as they kept walking. The location they had been giving was one of the abandoned top floors from a tall building, however they couldn’t sense Junhui or any other vampires.

 

Luhan should have sided with Vernon earlier. This was a bad idea.

 

Bad idea, more like a suicide mission. Vernon was always joking about wanting to die but Luhan could bet his immortality that this is not what he had in mind.

 

They entered the building and were on high alert, despite there just being commoners walking around managing their daily lives. This, of course, made them all more intense. What was going on?

 

Minghao led them to the 15th floor, his arms shaking so bad he kept dropping his phone. “Junhui must be here somewhere, where’s Jun, where is he??!!”  


“Minghao, calm down, you can’t do anything in that….state…of…. wait a second, why is this place empty?”  
  
“Why are you asking ME Jun said he was here and that they were- they were-“ Minghao legs gave out as he crumpled to the floor, phone long forgotten while he burst into tears, ugly sobs echoing the empty space.

 

“Hao, CALM DOWN we’ll think of something, look, Minghao-“ Vernon rambled off, getting on the floor to calm down his upset friend while Luhan checked the place out.

 

This place was really…odd. He still couldn’t sense Junhui or any vampires, nor that they had been here earlier.  There wasn’t any sign of violence either; no broken objects, no blood spilt. Something was off.

 

Minghao’s sobs were interrupted by Vernon’s cell, his annoying ringtone of continuos boom booms echoing off the walls. He checked the caller id and realized it was Seungkwan.

 

He instantly answered the call. “Hey, Seungkwan, what is it?”  


They couldn’t hear what was going on at the other side of the call, but they knew something was wrong when Vernon answered back, “what do you mean Junhui is with you guys, he said-“  
  
“JUN! Give me the phone, Vernon, give it, please-hello, Jun?!” Minghao replied, practically robbing Vernon’s phone as talked to Junhui on the other side. “What do you mean your phone was stolen, you called me a while ago, saying you needed help-no, it was like 20 minutes ago-what do you mean you lost it an hour, you answered me-“  
  
When the five hidden figures appeared, Luhan confirmed to himself that this had indeed been a trap.

 

***

 

“You know, the kids came here like an hour ago, but I haven’t seen you till like 10 minutes ago,” Baekhyun told Junmyeon, the latter sipping a watermelon smoothie that the registered trademark Kind Chanyeol had given him. “Where were you?”  
  
Junmyeon’s cheeks also, unfortunately, turned into the same shade as said smoothie.

 

Residing on Baekhyun’s bed, they had laid out some DVDs that Baekhyun had brought back from their place. Man, it had been _ages_ since they had last seen of that house. These were their favorite movies and series, and they were trying to decide which one to watch first.

 

Setting the drink down on the bedside, Junmyeon tried to think of the best response he could muster up. “It’s a long story-“  


“Movie can wait, now spill.” Baekhyun pushed the DVDs to the side and laid down on his stomach, his hands propping up his face as he swung both of his legs in the air. “What happened? It is good or bad? If bad, do you want to be distracted from it or talk about it? Better yet, kill-“  


“Woah, woah, not that _extreme,_ Baek, gosh.” Junmyeon hesitated. He _did_ want to tell Baekhyun, hell, he wanted to tell Baekhyun everything, that was his job as certified best friends but everyone in this building had goddamn super hearing and could just walk in any second and now they had a mind reader and oops got of think of an apology real quick please don’t kill me witch I just want to live-

 

“You know I’m willing to do anything for my best friend, but anyways, if I have to kill someone, it’ll have to wait, you know, cause of my foot but _anyways_ …” Baekhyun reached to the side of the bed and got that diabetic bag again filled with the chocolates. “No judging zone, remember? Be at ease.”  


_Take a deep breath_ , Junmyeon told himself. _Think of what to say first._

Might as well take a stab at it. “So….Yifan and I-“  


“Who’s Yifan?” Baekhyun got up, sitting in a normal position again. He grabbed a Toblerone bar and hastily opened it up, already stuffing a piece in his mouth. “Do I know him?”  
  
“Kris, Baekhyun, it’s Kris, but anyways, we-“

  
“Oh my god, did you guys _kiss_?” Baekhyun throw his chocolate on the bed, forget glucose, _this_ was the sweet details that he needed. “Did he? Oh my god Junmyeon, tell me, please-“  
  
“Yes, yes, we did!” Junmyeon exclaimed, the two of them releasing high-pitch screams at the same time. Fuck everyone hearing them, Junmyeon needed to fanboy with his best friend for a minute.

 

They grabbed each other’s hands and just shook them together, screaming, releasing a series of “oh my god I can’t believe it”. If it weren’t for Baekhyun’s foot, they would have been jumping up and down on the mattress.

 

When they lowered their insanity levels at least a twenty percent, Junmyeon and Baekhyun sat in silence for a minute, eyes closed, trying to raise their oxygen levels to normal. When that was done, Junmyeon told him everything, and he meant _everything._

 

And everything instantly became better because Baekhyun was there. Baekhyun, who shared his heartache when he told him about the balcony scene. Baekhyun, who shared his puzzlement when he told him about the bookstore. Baekhyun who shared his awe and curiosity and his desire to check out the hidden waterfalls. Baekhyun who squealed with him when Junmyeon gushed about Yifan’s warm lips on his, the two who had shared countless talks and kisses and playful splashes earlier.

 

Of course Baekhyun noticed his use of not calling him Kris, to which Junmyeon explained that he had called Kris Yifan earlier on accident to which Yifan had replied that it was all right. So now the name stuck.

 

Junmyeon knew their fanboying was going to get them in a dilemma, however, because then all of the sudden, Kris of course entered the room.

 

He knocked on the door before entering, his face looking confused. “Are you guys okay? I kept hearing screaming.”  


Baekhyun waved him away. “Don’t worry, Kris, I’ve postponed my assassination plot for you to another deadline. All is good right now.”  


Kris wanted to say something else but then Chanyeol burst into the room as well. “Kris, something’s wrong.”

 

All of Junmyeon and Baekhyun’s thoughts of happiness vanished into the air as soon as they sensed Chanyeol’s feeling of urgency. “What, what is it?” Kris asked him.

 

“Junhui said something about a trap set up for Minghao or something, I don’t know, but he’s missing along with Vernon and Luhan,” Chanyeol explained.

 

“ _Fuck,”_ was all Kris said before he ran out of the room, Chanyeol tagging along, leaving Junmyeon and Baekhyun to wonder what the hell just happened.

 

***

 

The room was in chaos. _Again._

 

If Baekhyun was being realistic to himself, he was getting used to this type of environment, one where everyone was screaming and pitching in ideas and calling each other idiots. Nothing that he and Junmyeon haven’t done.

 

Well, except having their lives on stake. That was a bit new. They just needed a little adjustment, that’s all. Nothing he and Junmyeon couldn’t handle.

 

Again, he and Junmyeon were at the corner, not wanting to get involved. From what Baekhyun picked up from snippets of the conversation, three people have gone missing, including Minseok and Junhui’s boyfriends. Baekhyun had assumed that Seungkwan was also seeing the other missing boy, but Chanyeol had told him latter that the two hadn’t declared their feelings to each other.

 

Ah, so many clueless soon-to-be couples. Good thing Kris and Junmyeon got themselves out of that category. Baekhyun’s plan of double dates was one step closer of being a reality.

 

Well, not that he’s been outside this stupid compound. Damn, his plan still had plotholes. He would persuade Minseok to go with them with his boyfriend, but now that was an obstacle too.

 

It was a good thing that were immortal, Baekhyun thought to himself, or else they would have died from stress a long time ago.

 

Out of the three loved ones, Seungkwan looked the most affected, his sobs not showing any sign of stopping anytime soon. Joshua and Dokyeom were cradling him on the floor, trying to calm him down. Junhui was screaming at Kris and Wonho as to why the trackers on Minghao weren’t working. Minseok remained silent, but by the way his face had gone pale white and how he was holding onto his own phone, it was obvious that was worried about Luhan’s whereabouts.

 

A bunch of crucial people were missing. There had also been a distress call from Taipei earlier, so a lot of them traveled there right away, including Shownu, Sehun, Jonghyun and Kibum and were out of service. Soonyoung and Jihoon headed out to Incheon and were going to meet up with them later. About ten of them also headed out to Nanjing.

 

Baekhyun thought it was weird. Things have been relatively peaceful and now attacks have been popping up everywhere? Coincidence? He didn’t think so.

 

From what Junhui had discovered from Minghao, the three were at some abandoned floors of a building in used. Easier said than done at a bustling city like this.

 

Tracking their phones weren’t working. They did have access to the city cameras, though, so Jongin was focused on watching the video clips. It started out well, but then they vanished after a certain amount of clips.

 

Kris did not like the type of magic that was being used.

 

They started running out of ideas until of their friends who lived in the city, Yugyeom, was able to contact them.

 

Wonho put him on speaker so that everyone present could reply back. “Yugyeom, my man, we have a problem.”

 

 _“That’s why I called, too,”_ Yugyeom replied, the sound coming out static-like. _“I think somethings going on in my district.”_  
  


“Like what?” Minseok asked.

 

“ _Well, I’m over attending the store,”_ he continued, _“you know, since Dowoon asked me earlier. And some people came by, but see, I couldn’t sense them-“_  
  


“What do you mean, you couldn’t sense them?” Kris interrupted. “Sensing what?”  


“ _You know how we sense, you know, humans and wolves and vampires and what not,”_ Yugyeom continued, “ _but I couldn’t sense these people, almost as if they weren’t there. I thought maybe they were projections and such, but like one of them interacted with a human after bumping into her, saying apologies, so it’s not like they’re a figment-“_  
  


“Shit, they got accessed to blockers,” Minseok muttered. “How did they get hold of those?”

 

“ _Oh, they went after-here hold on,”_ Yugyeom stopped for a minute, appearing to converse with someone on the other line. They could only hear a “ _what happened Youngjae”_ and the rest was unintelligible.

 

“Wait, Yugyeom, come back on the line!” Wonho shouted into the receiver. “Tell us more, we have a situation over here!”  
  
“ _Youngjae says he saw-okay, you know that tall building in front of ours? We saw Luhan, Vernon and Minghao enter so he’s been trying to reach them-“_  
  
“That’s it, we got the location!” Junhui exclaimed, already jumping off the sofa and rushing towards the double doors. “Tell Yugyeom that I’ll be there in five!”  
  
“Wait, Jun, don’t leave me!” Seungkwan raced after Junhui, Joshua and Dokyeom already after them. Kris muttered other questions to Yugyeom who was still on line, but the others were already getting into position.

 

Almost as if they were preparing for battle.

 

***  


“Remember, don’t be fooled by anyone else while I’m gone,” Minseok was telling him while he reached for something in the drawer. Looked like a wooden box or something. “I don’t like leaving you alone, but I’ll just have to trust that the others will take care of you and Baekhyun.”  
  
“You really don’t trust us with anyone, don’t you?” Junmyeon asked him. Minseok was growing increasingly fidgety by the minute.

 

Minseok sighed. “You know the phrase ‘anything is possible’? It’s both a blessing and a curse. If any good thing can happen, so can bad things. Every time I feel that enough bad events had happened, another one comes up. So yeah, anything is possible.” He walked up to where Junmyeon was perched on the bed and handed him a small amulet. “If I can’t be reached by phone, contact me through this.”

 

Junmyeon grabbed the silver amulet, turning it over with his palms as he raised it to his face to get a closer look. “How does this work?”  
  
“You just push the small diamond jewels on it, don’t worry too much about it.” Minseok digged through his bag and pulled out his sword again, dousing some silver liquid over it causing it to turn invisible. “Tell Chanyeol or Kris anything if you feel something’s wrong.”  
  
“Are you going to leave me packaged meals too?” Junmyeon teased him. Minseok always acted like an overprotective mother to him. He regretted it as soon as he said it, though, noticing Minseok’s hurt expression. “Hey, I’m sorry, it’s just-“

 

“No, not that, it’s just-uhh-“ Minseok pressed his palm to his forehead, wincing in pain as he crumpled to the ground.   
  
“MINSEOK!” Junmyeon jumped off the bed and ran towards his friend, who was holding his head in his hands. “Minseok, what-what is it, what-Minseok-“  
  
“Luhan,” was the only thing Minseok cried out, tears forming on his face. “Luhan, I- I need, earlier, we-“ Minseok groaned, rubbing harding circles onto his temples. “It… _hurts-_ “  


“Minseok, here-“ Junmyeon tried to lift Minseok off the ground and onto the bed, the other complaining about the pounding in his head. “I- wait here.”

 

Junmyeon started rummaging through the drawers, trying to find something, _anything_ , that could help Minseok. He opened and closed all the drawers, continuing to search until he found a familiar bottle.

 

It was the aspirin he had given Minseok a few months ago, recognizable from the red smiley faces Baekhyun had drawn with expo marker. Minseok was complaining about something in his head, so Junmyeon had offer him the bottle to take. Minseok choked, though, unfamiliar with those ‘treatments”, and now that Junmyeon thought about it, Minseok might have been referring to human medicine in general.

 

He popped the lid off and poured two small, pink pills onto his hands. There was no water bottle in sight, so Junmyeon figured liquids would have to be out as he ran to Minseok’s side again, trying to persuade the other to take the medicine again.

 

As expected, Minseok choked on them again.


End file.
